This review is for the Collectors Edition of 'Matinee' released by Shout! Factory in January, 2018.
I'm giving this release 5 stars for the release which contains a large amount of extra content.
The movie itself has some issues which I'll go into below. I'm giving the movie just 3 stars. It is decent but not great. So if you just want to see the movie and don't care about the extra's be aware that this was not a commercially successful movie and it's intended audience was movie goers in the 50's and 60's. It is heavily influenced by not only 50's movies but movies by promotional legend, William Castle.
For those who don't have much knowledge in 60's horror, the main character played by John Goodman, Lawrence Woolsey, is based heavily on the producer and director William Castle. Among castles most famous movies are 'House on Haunted Hill,' 'The Tingler,' 'Mr. Sardonicus,' etc. He is famous for his extraordinary promotions and gimmicks. If you have any interest, look up a biography on him, it is quite amazing to read about the stuff he came up with. My favorite one....forcing movie goers to sign a waiver before watching the movie in case you died of fright!
EXTRA'S: There are a plethora of extra's. They are as follows:
- MANT! - This is the full version of the black & white movie featured at the movie theater. It is about 18 minutes in length and contains a bunch of material not shown in the full length movie. There is a lead in that last about 5 minutes.
- New MANTastic! - The Making of MANT
- Master of the Matinee - An interview with Joe Dante
- The Leading Lady - An interview with star, Cathy Moriarty
- Out of the Bunker - An interview with child co-star Lisa Jakub
- Making a Monster Theatre - An interview with production desiger Steven Legler
- The Monster Mix - An interview with editor Marshall Harvey
- Lights! Camera! Reunion! - An interview with director of photography - John Hora
- Paranoia in Ant Vision - Making of 'Matinee' with Joe Dante
- 'Making of' featurette
- Behind the Scenes footage
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Stills Gallery
- Theatrical Trailer
PLOT/SUMMARY: The story is simple.....
Lawrence Woolsey (John Goodman) and his wife, are in Key West, Florida to promote his latest science fiction movie. He has been doing poorly and is hoping to stir up interest. He has booked a movie theater to show Mant!, a movie about a man who turns into a giant ant. It is 1962 and the theater is 90 miles away from Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The story focuses on several high school kids who are planning on seeing the movie. One of the kids has a father who is out on ship blockading Cuba. Woolsey has hired a couple of goons (one of which is Dick Miller, a character actor who has appeared in an incredible amount of 'B' movies) to pretend to be outraged at the content of the movie despite having not seen it. Woolsey has planned numerous gimmicks for the showing of MANT!. Chaos ensues when the gimmicks are confused with a missile attack.
You have a little bit of teen dating drama and that's about it.
COMMENTS: Before watching this I had never seen this movie. About 5 or 6 years ago I became a big fan of 50's and 60's science fiction and watched over 200 movies from the time period (just about everything worth mentioning!) This includes all the William Castle movies. I have seen probably every movie that was featured on a movie poster or marketing material in the background throughout the movie.
I have mixed feelings about the main story itself. I think what Joe Dante did is excellent but I feel like it was missing something. It's as if this movie wasn't sure if it wanted to be a 'tribute' movie or a comedy or parody or some combination. I certainly 'get' just about all the references. What I wasn't so sure about was the comedy aspect. I expected this movie to be much funnier than what it is. Therein lies the problem. The material is taken very seriously and it takes place during one of the scariest times in our countries (if not the world) history. Which on the one hand is good but it's easy to see why this movie wasn't a success. If it had been funnier, it probably would have done better. From a marketing aspect this movie appeals to a younger crowd. Probably many people that watched this movie did not pick up on the historical aspect of it or understand the material being parodied.
The plot is very shallow and I can see how someone who is not a fan of old sci-fi would get bored in this movie. This was not the case with me because I was spending a lot of time examining the detail in the background. That said, I am a big fan of old sci-fi.
This movie could have been set anywhere. Even with the Cuban Missile Crisis going on. After all a missile could have struck anywhere in America and the movie theater shenanigans would have been the same.
Mant! is obviously influenced by several movies, most notably, 'The Fly', Them!, and 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.' There are many other references to other movies. According to Joe Dante, parts of the dialogue are exactly the same as from movies of the time period.
You really have to be a hardcore fan to pick up on a lot of the jokes. But if you are a huge fan of these movies then you will be rewarded and get a lot more out of it. For example, The general played by Kevin McCarthy of 'Invasion of the Body Snatcher' fame, is named General Ankrum. This is a reference to Morris Ankrum, a character actor who played a general in many early science fiction films.
While watching the extra's we learn that Joe Dante had his production people make the costume for the featured movie, MANT! using 1950's low budget technology. He instructed them to make it look as good as they could under the same constraints of the original production teams. He also told the actor's to 'don't act good.' In her interview Cathy Moriarty said she found it difficult to act 'bad.'
Naomi Watts has a bit part in 'MANT!'
The bomb drill held during high school hours is an accurate representation of the times.
RECOMMENDATIONS: If you are a fan of Joe Dante's movie then go ahead and pick this one up. Certainly you will want it if you are fan of William Castle or 50's science fiction.
I'm giving the movie only 2 1/2 to 3 stars. The extra's are 5 stars. The release if 5 stars because you would be very hard pressed to improve on what's here. There is just about everything you can think of.
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Matinee
Rated: Format: DVD
NR
IMDb6.9/10.0
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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DVD
August 22, 2010 "Please retry" | DVD | 1 | $9.39 | $9.38 |
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| Format | Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen |
| Contributor | Goodman, John |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 1 hour and 39 minutes |
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Product Description
Product Description
John Goodman is at his uproarious best as the gregarious creator of sci-fi thrillers, circa 1962, who brings his unique brand of showmanship to the unsuspecting residents of Key West, Florida for the premiere of his latest offering on the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Amazon.com
Matinee offers one of the best matches of director and screenplay that you're ever likely to find. Raised on a steady diet of 1950s monster movies, Joe Dante later contributed to the genre with such films as Gremlins and Explorers, but it was Charlie Haas's script for Matinee that gave Dante a perfect platform for comedy, dramatic context, and nostalgic homage. Set in Florida during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, the movie focuses on a schlock-movie promoter named Woolsey (inspired by real-life producer William Castle and played to perfection by John Goodman) who arrives in Key West with his latest Grade-Z extravaganza, Mant, about the raving half-man/half-ant product of "science run amuck." (This movie-within-a-movie is a perfect tribute by Dante, who cast B-movie stalwarts in the kind of roles they'd built careers on.)
Balancing youthful exuberance with the ominous threat of nuclear attack, Dante finds his alter ego in Simon Fenton, who plays a 15-year-old captivated by Woolsey's cheesy showmanship. This affectionate devotion is matched by Dante, who captures the anxiety of the missile crisis even as Matinee delivers an abundance of humor. Director John Sayles and Dante-movie veteran Dick Miller have cameos as Woolsey's show-biz accomplices, and Cathy Moriarty is brilliant as Woolsey's wisecracking mistress and Z-movie queen. All of this makes Matinee a polished gem that's sweetly entertaining while staying true to the serious context of its story. It's the movie Joe Dante was born to direct. --Jeff Shannon
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.66:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.38 x 0.6 inches; 4 ounces
- Media Format : Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 39 minutes
- Release date : January 1, 1993
- Actors : Goodman, John
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
- Studio : IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
- ASIN : 6305080453
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #218,421 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #165,006 in DVD
- Customer Reviews:
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Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2018
This is the kind of release we wish the major studios would give us all the time -- a beautiful transfer and plenty of supplemental material.
I've had the LV and two (I think) DVDs, but this one outclasses them. The main transfer appears to come from a near-perfect print, with (to be honest) overly high saturation, the color popping. (The supplemental materials have a more-natural saturation.) The image is sharp, and (depending on how you adjust your TV's "motion" settings) can be made a bit sharper, without the image looking like video.
The supplements vary in quality. Cathy Moriarty's interview isn't too revealing, but Joe Dante's tells us about the process the script went through until someone agreed to finance it. We also get a better understanding of why he directs children so well -- and how he got the adult actors to deliver "bad" performances. Movie geeks will get a kick out of learning how the costumes were created and operated. (And by the way -- Dr Grabow is a pipe brand. Look it up.)
The crown and glory, of course, is the complete "Mant!" sequence, shot in real B&W before the main filming started. The image quality is disappointing -- inferior to the same material in the composite film. Sharpness isn't as good, grays are muddy, and highlights are often burned out.
"Matinee" comes close to needing a PG-13 rating. The poetry-spouting, near-psychotic Harvey Starkweather is named after Charles Starkweather, a serial killer of the late '50s. (Am I the only one who's noticed this?) At one point he grabs Sherry and threatens to slit her throat with a knife.
"Matinee" is both a satire of bad movies, and of early-'60s social and political attitudes. As one reviewer said ""Part spoof, part nostalgia trip, and part primer in exploitation-pic ballyhoo, Matinee is a sweetly resonant little movie-lovers' movie". I assume this edition will not be part of Shout Factory's permanent offerings. If you want it, grab it now.
I've had the LV and two (I think) DVDs, but this one outclasses them. The main transfer appears to come from a near-perfect print, with (to be honest) overly high saturation, the color popping. (The supplemental materials have a more-natural saturation.) The image is sharp, and (depending on how you adjust your TV's "motion" settings) can be made a bit sharper, without the image looking like video.
The supplements vary in quality. Cathy Moriarty's interview isn't too revealing, but Joe Dante's tells us about the process the script went through until someone agreed to finance it. We also get a better understanding of why he directs children so well -- and how he got the adult actors to deliver "bad" performances. Movie geeks will get a kick out of learning how the costumes were created and operated. (And by the way -- Dr Grabow is a pipe brand. Look it up.)
The crown and glory, of course, is the complete "Mant!" sequence, shot in real B&W before the main filming started. The image quality is disappointing -- inferior to the same material in the composite film. Sharpness isn't as good, grays are muddy, and highlights are often burned out.
"Matinee" comes close to needing a PG-13 rating. The poetry-spouting, near-psychotic Harvey Starkweather is named after Charles Starkweather, a serial killer of the late '50s. (Am I the only one who's noticed this?) At one point he grabs Sherry and threatens to slit her throat with a knife.
"Matinee" is both a satire of bad movies, and of early-'60s social and political attitudes. As one reviewer said ""Part spoof, part nostalgia trip, and part primer in exploitation-pic ballyhoo, Matinee is a sweetly resonant little movie-lovers' movie". I assume this edition will not be part of Shout Factory's permanent offerings. If you want it, grab it now.
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2018
I was very pleased when I learned Shout! Factory was releasing this on Blu-Ray, so I knew I had to get it as soon as it was available.
Not disappointed at all. I remember seeing this film when it was first released in the theater and thought it should have received a lot more attention than it did. It's a really nice peek into both the world of the Schlock Sci-Fi and Horror films of the late 50's / early 60's as well as a good look of the Cold War paranoia that seemed to hit a peak during the Cuban Missle Crisis. All of this happened before I was born, but it's very interesting to see a somewhat idyllic time period thrust into panic by the threat of nuclear war. All of the performances were well-done both in the movie and the "movie within a movie" known as "Mant".
I especially love John Goodman's role in this film as a cheesy film-maker who also genuinely loves his audience and really feels as if he's doing the world a service by serving up scary but mostly harmless movies. The way he plays temporary surrogate father to young Gene (whose Dad is serving in the Navy aboard a Blockade Ship during the crisis) is also rather heart-warming. He proves to be a genuinely good guy despite the somewhat underhanded lengths he goes to in order to promote his film.
And let's not forget the other star of this film - Mant! The move within a movie is genuinely entertaining and a great homage to the "Atomic Age" horror films like "Them!", "The Fly" and more.
Shout! Factory, as usual, has done a good job on the blu-ray transfer as well as provide some really good features such as cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes footage and even a view of "Mant" from beginning to finish.
If anything from this bygone era sounds even remotely appealing, this film is recommended. You won't be disappointed.
Not disappointed at all. I remember seeing this film when it was first released in the theater and thought it should have received a lot more attention than it did. It's a really nice peek into both the world of the Schlock Sci-Fi and Horror films of the late 50's / early 60's as well as a good look of the Cold War paranoia that seemed to hit a peak during the Cuban Missle Crisis. All of this happened before I was born, but it's very interesting to see a somewhat idyllic time period thrust into panic by the threat of nuclear war. All of the performances were well-done both in the movie and the "movie within a movie" known as "Mant".
I especially love John Goodman's role in this film as a cheesy film-maker who also genuinely loves his audience and really feels as if he's doing the world a service by serving up scary but mostly harmless movies. The way he plays temporary surrogate father to young Gene (whose Dad is serving in the Navy aboard a Blockade Ship during the crisis) is also rather heart-warming. He proves to be a genuinely good guy despite the somewhat underhanded lengths he goes to in order to promote his film.
And let's not forget the other star of this film - Mant! The move within a movie is genuinely entertaining and a great homage to the "Atomic Age" horror films like "Them!", "The Fly" and more.
Shout! Factory, as usual, has done a good job on the blu-ray transfer as well as provide some really good features such as cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes footage and even a view of "Mant" from beginning to finish.
If anything from this bygone era sounds even remotely appealing, this film is recommended. You won't be disappointed.
Top reviews from other countries
Fred Rowe
5.0 out of 5 stars
No complaints
Reviewed in Canada on December 30, 2023
No complaints
LD
4.0 out of 5 stars
En Atomovision et Sismorama !
Reviewed in France on May 29, 2021
NB Je reproduis ci-dessous le commentaire consacré en son temps à l’édition française Carlotta de Matinee / Panic sur Florida Beach de Joe Dante (1993). J’ajouterai dans la foulée quelques remarques sur l’édition blu-ray britannique Arrow Academy sortie en 2016.
Joe Dante fait partie des réalisateurs qui, ayant réussi à faire leur trou à l'orée des années 80 grâce à leurs succès dans le cinéma de genre – le plus grand en ce qui le concerne restera Gremlins (1984) – ont plus ou moins été balayés par la quête de spectaculaire à tout crin des décennies suivantes. Comme le rappelle Dante lui-même, « j'ai la chance que la plupart des films que j'ai faits dans les années quatre-vingt sont ceux que je voulais faire. Les batailles que j'ai dû mener, je les ai gagnées pour la plupart. Je peux regarder mes films et me dire : 'Tout ce qui cloche dedans, j'en suis le seul responsable'. Mais après cette époque, avec les années quatre-vingt-dix, mettre un peu de vision personnelle dans un film produit par un studio est devenu plus difficile » (entretien avec Bertrand Tavernier dans Amis Américains).
A vrai dire, à part Small Soldiers (1998), gros échec commercial ayant signé son arrêt de mort auprès des studios, ses réussites des vingt-cinq dernières années ont été concoctées pour la télé câblée : ainsi des très corrosifs The Second Civil War (1997) et Vote ou crève de la série Masters of Horror (2005). Si Matinee fait figure de film personnel et un peu miraculé dans cette déchéance qui n'a pas grand-chose à voir avec son activité créatrice mais plutôt avec l'incapacité grandissante des studios à valoriser des talents non formatés, c'est précisément... parce qu'ils n'étaient que modérément partie prenante ! On apprend dans les suppléments que le film devait être amplement financé par de l'argent européen, et que lorsqu'il est devenu clair que celui-ci n'arriverait pas, Universal, mis au pied du mur, a choisi de ne pas arrêter le projet en faisant « le choix de la passion plutôt que celui de la raison ». Dante ajoute que le patron, après avoir vu le résultat, se demandait surtout comment vendre ce film difficilement vendable. En 1993, la messe était déjà dite et ce genre de film était déjà bien passé de mode.
Non pas qu'il soit incroyablement audacieux, c'est loin d'être le cas. Le scénario de Charlie Haas ne développe pas toutes ses potentialités, et manque du sens du délire qu'il avait su dans ses meilleurs moments insuffler à Gremlins 2 (1990). Passant un peu trop de temps à parodier gentiment les ‘teenage comedies’ des années 80, le film ne décolle jamais complètement avant la dernière partie. Mais outre qu'il comporte quelques éléments satiriques bien sentis et que la séquence de la projection de ‘Mant’ est savoureuse, il ne pourra manquer de ravir tous les nostalgiques. A commencer par ceux du cinéma américain des années 50, du cinéma de genre, et en particulier des films de monstre. Mélange de William Castle, Jack Arnold, Gordon Douglas et Alfred Hitchcock (pour la corpulence et le barreau de chaise), le personnage du producteur Lawrence Woolsey, interprété de façon épatante par John Goodman, est un régal. Comme l'est la parodie de film de ce type, fin années 50, ‘Mant’, dont de larges extraits sont montrés dans la dernière séquence et dont les 16' qui ont été tournées se trouvent intégralement en supplément. Seul quelqu'un comme Dante pouvait sans doute livrer une parodie aussi bien troussée, « tendre et loufoque », comme il le dit dans l'entretien. Par ailleurs, il s'agit d'une ode à la salle de cinéma et à l'expérience de vie qu'elle permet. C'est avec tendresse, mais sans se départir complètement de son sens de l'ironie, que Dante revient à la fois sur sa propre cinéphilie, et sur son enfance dans une Amérique en proie à la paranoïa. Ce regard tendre, y compris dans la parodie d'un genre aimé, font tout le prix de ce film qui sans être un sommet absolu rappelle toutes les raisons pour lesquelles on aime ce réalisateur. Un peu franc-tireur dans le cinéma américain, son sens de l'imaginaire n'a jamais vraiment cadré avec celui qu'on attendait de lui (voir par exemple Explorers), sans même parler de son sens satirique un peu trop développé au goût de certains.
EDITION BLU-RAY FRANCAISE CARLOTTA (2011)
Le master HD est beau, mais pas parfait. La définition est bonne et les couleurs sont bien restituées, mais on pourra constater quelques variations d'intensité lumineuse, et plusieurs sautes d'image. Rien qui vienne gâcher le plaisir d'ensemble, toutefois. VOSTF et VF PCM Stéréo de qualité. L'édition dvd ne démérite pas - le master présenté étant tout à fait bon - d'autant que les suppléments (indiqués dans la présentation de l'éditeur ci-dessus) sont les mêmes que dans l'édition blu-ray.
Les suppléments sont excellents. On retiendra évidemment la présentation des délectables 16' de "Mant", assorties de la bande-annonce présentée par Lawrence Woolsey, et d'une préface de Joe Dante qui revient sur sa confection et sur les acteurs qui y jouent. L'entretien entre Joe Dante et Michael Henry Wilson est très intéressant, parce qu'il prend le temps de revenir sur la plupart des aspects (31').
Sans atteindre la perfection, cette édition rend pleinement justice à un film pour lequel on garde une grande affection. Espérons que cette édition sera l'occasion pour beaucoup de le découvrir et de tomber sous son charme qui, il faut bien l'avouer, est (hélas) un peu désuet.
EDITION BLU-RAY BRITANNIQUE ARROW (2016)
L’édition sortie aux Etats-Unis chez Shout Factory a été reprise en zone B en Grande-Bretagne par Arrow. Celle-ci reprend les suppléments majeurs de l’édition Carlotta – évidemment ‘Mant’ dans son intégralité et sa présentation par Dante, mais aussi l’entretien avec Michael Henry Wilson – mais y adjoint aussi quelques autres entretiens et scènes coupées, ainsi qu’un petit livret papier. Le master est également un tout petit cran au-dessus. Des sous-titres en anglais sont disponibles. Si l’on n’a pas besoin du français, cette édition est tout ce qu’il y a de plus recommandable. Cela dit, l’édition Carlotta fera parfaitement l’affaire si la langue est un obstacle.
Notons pour les amateurs du cinéaste qu’il existe enfin une édition blu-ray d’Explorers – mais pour l’instant aux Etats-Unis uniquement, en zone A, grâce aux éditions Shout Factory (collection Shout Select, sortie mai 2021). Le film est présenté dans ses deux versions, celle de la sortie en salles et la version vidéo, avec des sous-titres en anglais si on le souhaite. Joe Dante, Ethan Hawke, le scénariste Eric Luke, le chef opérateur John Hora ont notamment la parole dans des suppléments assez copieux. Il y a également quelques scènes coupées avec un commentaire de Dante. Par ailleurs, l’éditeur ESC sort également pour la première fois en blu-ray chez nous Small Soldiers.
Joe Dante fait partie des réalisateurs qui, ayant réussi à faire leur trou à l'orée des années 80 grâce à leurs succès dans le cinéma de genre – le plus grand en ce qui le concerne restera Gremlins (1984) – ont plus ou moins été balayés par la quête de spectaculaire à tout crin des décennies suivantes. Comme le rappelle Dante lui-même, « j'ai la chance que la plupart des films que j'ai faits dans les années quatre-vingt sont ceux que je voulais faire. Les batailles que j'ai dû mener, je les ai gagnées pour la plupart. Je peux regarder mes films et me dire : 'Tout ce qui cloche dedans, j'en suis le seul responsable'. Mais après cette époque, avec les années quatre-vingt-dix, mettre un peu de vision personnelle dans un film produit par un studio est devenu plus difficile » (entretien avec Bertrand Tavernier dans Amis Américains).
A vrai dire, à part Small Soldiers (1998), gros échec commercial ayant signé son arrêt de mort auprès des studios, ses réussites des vingt-cinq dernières années ont été concoctées pour la télé câblée : ainsi des très corrosifs The Second Civil War (1997) et Vote ou crève de la série Masters of Horror (2005). Si Matinee fait figure de film personnel et un peu miraculé dans cette déchéance qui n'a pas grand-chose à voir avec son activité créatrice mais plutôt avec l'incapacité grandissante des studios à valoriser des talents non formatés, c'est précisément... parce qu'ils n'étaient que modérément partie prenante ! On apprend dans les suppléments que le film devait être amplement financé par de l'argent européen, et que lorsqu'il est devenu clair que celui-ci n'arriverait pas, Universal, mis au pied du mur, a choisi de ne pas arrêter le projet en faisant « le choix de la passion plutôt que celui de la raison ». Dante ajoute que le patron, après avoir vu le résultat, se demandait surtout comment vendre ce film difficilement vendable. En 1993, la messe était déjà dite et ce genre de film était déjà bien passé de mode.
Non pas qu'il soit incroyablement audacieux, c'est loin d'être le cas. Le scénario de Charlie Haas ne développe pas toutes ses potentialités, et manque du sens du délire qu'il avait su dans ses meilleurs moments insuffler à Gremlins 2 (1990). Passant un peu trop de temps à parodier gentiment les ‘teenage comedies’ des années 80, le film ne décolle jamais complètement avant la dernière partie. Mais outre qu'il comporte quelques éléments satiriques bien sentis et que la séquence de la projection de ‘Mant’ est savoureuse, il ne pourra manquer de ravir tous les nostalgiques. A commencer par ceux du cinéma américain des années 50, du cinéma de genre, et en particulier des films de monstre. Mélange de William Castle, Jack Arnold, Gordon Douglas et Alfred Hitchcock (pour la corpulence et le barreau de chaise), le personnage du producteur Lawrence Woolsey, interprété de façon épatante par John Goodman, est un régal. Comme l'est la parodie de film de ce type, fin années 50, ‘Mant’, dont de larges extraits sont montrés dans la dernière séquence et dont les 16' qui ont été tournées se trouvent intégralement en supplément. Seul quelqu'un comme Dante pouvait sans doute livrer une parodie aussi bien troussée, « tendre et loufoque », comme il le dit dans l'entretien. Par ailleurs, il s'agit d'une ode à la salle de cinéma et à l'expérience de vie qu'elle permet. C'est avec tendresse, mais sans se départir complètement de son sens de l'ironie, que Dante revient à la fois sur sa propre cinéphilie, et sur son enfance dans une Amérique en proie à la paranoïa. Ce regard tendre, y compris dans la parodie d'un genre aimé, font tout le prix de ce film qui sans être un sommet absolu rappelle toutes les raisons pour lesquelles on aime ce réalisateur. Un peu franc-tireur dans le cinéma américain, son sens de l'imaginaire n'a jamais vraiment cadré avec celui qu'on attendait de lui (voir par exemple Explorers), sans même parler de son sens satirique un peu trop développé au goût de certains.
EDITION BLU-RAY FRANCAISE CARLOTTA (2011)
Le master HD est beau, mais pas parfait. La définition est bonne et les couleurs sont bien restituées, mais on pourra constater quelques variations d'intensité lumineuse, et plusieurs sautes d'image. Rien qui vienne gâcher le plaisir d'ensemble, toutefois. VOSTF et VF PCM Stéréo de qualité. L'édition dvd ne démérite pas - le master présenté étant tout à fait bon - d'autant que les suppléments (indiqués dans la présentation de l'éditeur ci-dessus) sont les mêmes que dans l'édition blu-ray.
Les suppléments sont excellents. On retiendra évidemment la présentation des délectables 16' de "Mant", assorties de la bande-annonce présentée par Lawrence Woolsey, et d'une préface de Joe Dante qui revient sur sa confection et sur les acteurs qui y jouent. L'entretien entre Joe Dante et Michael Henry Wilson est très intéressant, parce qu'il prend le temps de revenir sur la plupart des aspects (31').
Sans atteindre la perfection, cette édition rend pleinement justice à un film pour lequel on garde une grande affection. Espérons que cette édition sera l'occasion pour beaucoup de le découvrir et de tomber sous son charme qui, il faut bien l'avouer, est (hélas) un peu désuet.
EDITION BLU-RAY BRITANNIQUE ARROW (2016)
L’édition sortie aux Etats-Unis chez Shout Factory a été reprise en zone B en Grande-Bretagne par Arrow. Celle-ci reprend les suppléments majeurs de l’édition Carlotta – évidemment ‘Mant’ dans son intégralité et sa présentation par Dante, mais aussi l’entretien avec Michael Henry Wilson – mais y adjoint aussi quelques autres entretiens et scènes coupées, ainsi qu’un petit livret papier. Le master est également un tout petit cran au-dessus. Des sous-titres en anglais sont disponibles. Si l’on n’a pas besoin du français, cette édition est tout ce qu’il y a de plus recommandable. Cela dit, l’édition Carlotta fera parfaitement l’affaire si la langue est un obstacle.
Notons pour les amateurs du cinéaste qu’il existe enfin une édition blu-ray d’Explorers – mais pour l’instant aux Etats-Unis uniquement, en zone A, grâce aux éditions Shout Factory (collection Shout Select, sortie mai 2021). Le film est présenté dans ses deux versions, celle de la sortie en salles et la version vidéo, avec des sous-titres en anglais si on le souhaite. Joe Dante, Ethan Hawke, le scénariste Eric Luke, le chef opérateur John Hora ont notamment la parole dans des suppléments assez copieux. Il y a également quelques scènes coupées avec un commentaire de Dante. Par ailleurs, l’éditeur ESC sort également pour la première fois en blu-ray chez nous Small Soldiers.
Juan Romero Moya
5.0 out of 5 stars
De inmediato les voy ha pasar un nuevo pedido.
Reviewed in Spain on June 12, 2018
La originalidad del guión. El ritmo y la excelente interpretación de los actores en plural.
La he colocado dentro de las mejores películas de ciencia-ficción.
La he colocado dentro de las mejores películas de ciencia-ficción.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Matinee [Blu-ray] [UK Import]
Reviewed in Germany on January 7, 2017
MATINEE [1993 / 2016] [Blu-ray + DVD] [UK Release] Half Man... Half Ant... All Terror! MATINEE: A Cinematic Love Letter to the Films of William Castle! Duck for Cover in Atomo-Vision and Rumble-Rama!
HALF MAN... HALF ANT... ALL TERROR! So says the advertising campaign for MANT!, the latest low-budget schlock-horror classic from cigar-chomping producer Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman], who more than makes up for his films lack of production values by festooning them with gimmicks that would turn even William Castle’s film ‘The Tingler’ green with envy.
But the most potent gimmick of all is accidental: Lawrence Woolsey schedules a sneak preview of Mant! in Key West, Florida, in October 1962, unaware that the Cuban missile crisis is about to flare up. Will the threat of genuine nuclear war distract the locals from the movie, or will they find it doubly terrifying?
Directed by the legendary Joe Dante, this delightful film isn’t just an affectionate love-letter to the sci-fi and horror films that he grew up with in the 1950s and 1960s, it’s also a witty and intelligent exploration of the way that the most successful genre films worked by preying on the very real fears of their audiences about everything from Soviet satellite launches to atomic mutation.
Showman Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman] introduces Key West, in a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalises on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitsch horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and an actor in rubber suit in this salute to the B-movie. Although ‘MATINEE’ is set in October 1962, its other film within a film that is the family-oriented gimmick comedy ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart,’ featuring an anthropomorphic shopping cart, is a reference to some colour Walt Disney comedies and the film features a then-unknown Naomi Watts.
Cast: John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, Kellie Martin, Jesse Lee Soffer, Lucinda Jenney, James Villemaire, Robert Picardo, Jesse White, Dick Miller, John Sayles, David Clennon, Lucy Butler, Georgie Cranford, Nick Bronson, Cory Barlog, George Carson, Joe Gonzalez, Belinda Balaski, Charles S. Haas, Mark McCracken, Archie Hahn, Naomi Watts, Chris Stacy, Allison McKay, Richard Rossomme, D. Christian Gottshall, Elizabeth Dimon, Jacob Witkin, Timothy Bass, Jeff Breslauer, Molly Conole, Peggy O'Neal, Colette Piceau, Steve DuMouchel, Kurt Smildsin, Michael T. Kelly, Ike Pappas, Brett Rice, Robert Cornthwaite (uncredited), John F. Kennedy (archive footage) (uncredited), Art Linkletter (uncredited), Kevin McCarthy (uncredited), Sherrie Peterson (uncredited), William Schallert (uncredited), Adlai Stevenson (archive footage) Elijah Vorrasi (uncredited) and Valerian Zorin (archive footage) (uncredited)
Director: Joe Dante
Producers: Michael Finnell and Pat Kehoe
Screenplay: Charles S. Haas (story) and Jerico Stone (story)
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography: John Hora
Video Resolution: 1080p [Color by DeLuxe]
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 99 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Universal Pictures / Arrow Video
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘MATINEE’ [1993] is a hilarious and poetic chronicle of America's early 1960s and a beautiful declaration of love for cinema, by the immense prolific director Joe Dante. If there's one director who has paid dearly for his insolence towards the powerful Hollywood industry it is Joe Dante, whose name is often unknown to the general public at large and it is a totally real injustice. The man formerly protected by Steven Spielberg, who indeed staged a series of small film masterpieces that had a profound impact on children of the 1980s. Like the brilliant ‘The Howling’ [1980] is now mainly known for horror film genre enthusiasts, especially like the explosive ‘Indoor Adventure’ [1987] and the fantastic ‘Gremlins’ [1984] that are now cult films that remain for a whole generation of moviegoers. In reviewing these cult classic horror films, you can measure anyone born at a time when the typical "family film" was not synonymous with weakness and political incorrect scenario, but instead irreverence and fantasy. Because of Joe Dante’s ability to infuse a real breath of fresh air with all his blockbuster films that he has had under his responsibility and direction, Joe Dante remains one of the most emblematic adventurous directors that we have been blessed with his type and style of genre filmmaking.
As to the film ‘MATINEE’ [1993] it is October 1962 and an enterprising film promoter capitalises on the hysteria during the Cuban Missile Crisis, that is happening in the small seaside town of Key West in Florida and introduces the idea of live props and special effects at the local Key West cinema during the horror movie ‘MANT!’ We meet Gene Loomis [Simon Fenton], a teenager, and his brother Dennis Loomis [Jesse Lee Soffer], who live on the military base in the area of Key West; their father, who is in the Navy, is on an urgent mission aboard a submarine. The country is in turmoil since the televised announcement of President John F. Kennedy explaining that Soviet missiles were spotted in Cuba and that the Communist offensive enemy is more than likely. It is in this climate of terror that the director and "showman" Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman] is presenting his latest film attraction ‘MANT!’ of changing a man into a giant ant, following a nuclear accident! Gene Loomis meets Lawrence Woolsey, who he greatly admires, and helps in the preparation of its dramatic effects in the cinema while around them, plus there is the nuclear threat that will amplify...the feeling that the end of the world is nigh? Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' is a beautiful film that is guaranteed to appeal to children and adults alike. At its heart, it is a great tribute to the 1950s and 1960s monster films, which Joe Dante admired as a child. It is also full of energy and enormously entertaining.
John F. Kennedy interrupts television sets across the nation to warn of the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, and filmmaker Lawrence Woolsey decides to capitalise on the atmosphere of fear that is taking hold in Florida after the announcement. Lawrence Woolsey's latest film ‘MANT!’ just happens to be about an ant-human like killer hybrid that attacks only after atom bomb the turns into this frightful creature. Where better to open a film like this than in a small town near Key West, Florida, with its military base and close proximity to an apparent atomic threat? In addition to bringing his film to Key West, Florida, Lawrence Woolsey decides to drum up even more publicity for his film by bringing along a couple of pals Herb Denning [Dick Miller] and Bob [John Sayles] who pretend to protest about Lawrence Woolsey film.
Ambitious exploitation director Lawrence Woolsey has just arrived in Key West where his latest film will have its premiere. Lawrence Woolsey is hoping for a warm reception and a big cheque from the owner Howard [Robert Picardo] the Theatre Manager of the local cinema that will hopefully save Lawrence Woolsey career, and possibly even his relationship with his beautiful mistress, Ruth Corday [Cathy Moriarty], who has grown tired of following him around the country. To hype up the film, Lawrence Woolsey has secretly brought in a few old friends to protest its amorality in front of the theatre. When people gather to see what all the fuss is all about, Lawrence Woolsey begins handing out free tickets to attend the screening to support Lawrence Woolsey’s film ‘MANT!’
Soon after, Lawrence Woolsey wires the theatre seats with buzzers, and hires a guy to dress like a monster “Ant-Man” and run amok inside the cinema once the film begins. Lawrence Woolsey wants the screening to be special so that people would want to see the film again, and again, and again and pay for it again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, Gene Loomis [Simon Fenton], who is obsessed with monster films, and cannot, believe that the director Lawrence Woolsey has come to Key West. Gene Loomis is so excited that he has almost forgotten about the fact that his father, a navy officer, has been sent to Cuba.
The film works because its characters are alive. There are so many of these “feel-good” films nowadays where the characters utter their lines and the viewer immediately feel that they are meaningless. In ‘MATINEE,’ the lines are funny and awkward. They make sense because kids often say and do things that make perfect sense to them but not to us. The excited young kids also look genuinely excited when they enter the cinema because they know that the next two hours will be magical, even if the film was bad, like the one Lawrence Woolsey hypes up big time, we would see it again and again, because the atmosphere in the theatre was so special.
The film's serious side is also credible. With the world on a verge of a nuclear war, the adults look genuinely confused and scared. For a while, a few act as if everything is under control, but then they become paranoid, like everyone else. The script has this same sense of self-awareness, with Lawrence Woolsey pointing out "scientific" evidence to his audience and trying to emphasis the "IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!" aspect of his latest story. Just as much credit must be given to Charles S. Haas as to Joe Dante for this film's success as homage to the horror-corn of the past, since Charles Haas wrote the screenplay.
And what would a William Castle tribute/spoof be without a nod to his famous cinema gimmicks? In the case of Lawrence Woolsey's film ‘MANT!’ and Lawrence Woolsey the director announces that the film will be accompanied by "Atomovision." Little buzzers are attached to the seats in the local theatre, just as they were for William Castle's ‘The Tingler.' Attendees must sign a contract with a "nurse" in case they die during the screening. Lawrence Woolsey even shows up at the cinema and hands out free passes to his latest film to counteract the fake protest he created!
`MATINEE' is fun because of its seriousness to tell an extraordinary story, by its way to live a character in science fiction in an ultra-mundane, everyday world. The actors all play in making tons. We also understand, through ‘MANT!’ shows how horror films were distilling their political discourse. For ‘MANT!’ the ant is simply the foreign element that will slowly devour the soul of a brave American lambda. In a curious scene, military and scientific clash over how to fight the enemy, either by science that brings compassion either by arms. William Castle's influence is most apparent, though, and Joe Dante and Charles S. Haas clearly have all of the knowledge of and respect for William Castle's work required to pay tribute to it successfully. Even the duality of fright and silliness in William Castle's films is emphasised by ‘MARINEE' with younger 8 year old brother Dennis Loomis becoming frequently scared during that ‘MANT!’ preview in the opening, while Gene Loomis acts aloof... but finds himself jumping, too, eventually.
As always with director Joe Dante, the cast is outstanding, starting with the young actors, all of a very high calibre and the supporting roles are no exception. Besides the presence of several faithful friends of the director, like the excellent Dick Miller and Robert Picardo in the lead, we note the performance of Cathy Moriarty, whose humour deadpan laugh scores at each of its replicas. Note also the brief appearance of the young Naomi Watts, who made her debut here in the ‘MATINEE’ film. Regarding the hilarious Lawrence Woolsey producer, it is interpreted by the always great performance of John Goodman, who just created one of the best performances of his career, and a genuine cartoon character unto itself, as well as both a businessman, showman and great kid trapped in an adult body, it is the master of ceremonies of the most beautiful declarations of love that we have in the cinema that we get to see.
Note that in ‘MATINEE' there is another film genre parody going on, this time it is a pastiche homage to family Walt Disney productions with Dean Jones in the early 1960s that Joe Dante also produced: ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart.’ At that time, Walt Disney liked to animate objects with a human soul. Joe Dante imagined an old man reincarnated into supermarket trolley, which has the same slapstick humour, outrageous same direction, same stupid dialogue, but the female lead is held by a young unknown actress the then Naomi Watts. Note that in ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart’ that we can see nuns walking down the street, figures that Joe Dante likes fit into all his films. So I consider ‘MATINEE' is a must-see for all fans of the William Castle genre or for mid-century film buffs of any type. It is an extremely entertaining film in its own right, but is especially enjoyable for its homage to one of my favourite cult horror filmmakers William Castle, the king of the corn. But of course another part of making this fantastic film what it is, and the brilliant reflection of the period in the America psyche in the 1960s, is the awesome music of that era and here below is what you will hear throughout the film, enjoy!
MATINEE MUSIC TRACK LISTING
THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT [Performed by The Tokens]
LOCO-MOTION [Performed by Little Eva]
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE [Performed by Gene Pitney]
WALK, DON’T RUN [Performed by The Challengers]
MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK [Performed by The Angels]
THE END OF THE WORLD [Performed by Skeeter Davis]
JOHNNY ANGEL [Performed by Shelley Fabares]
THE GREAT PRETENDER [Performed by The Platters]
MONSTER ATTACK from ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ [1954] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Son of Dracula’ [1943] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
STALKING THE CREATURE from ‘The Creature Walks Among Us’ [1956] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Tarantula’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
WINGED DEATH from ‘The Deadly Mantis’ [1957] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
VISITORS from 'It Came from Outer Space' [1953] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Revenge of the Creature’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘This Island Earth’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
SHOOTING STARS from ‘This Island Earth’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
Blu-ray Video Quality – Arrow Video presents us the film ‘MATINEE' in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and encoded with a stunning gorgeous 1080p image transfer and showcasing John Hora's luminous brilliant cinematography. Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' arrives exclusive on this Blu-ray disc courtesy of Arrow Video. The high-definition transfer is very good and especially outside and inside the theatre detail is very good, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels are very stable and delivering consistently sharp detail, a generous contrast range and sumptuous colour, with crisp black levels, naturalistic skin tones and vividly rendered primes. Virtually spotless and displaying a very fine level of film grain, this is a real showcase for 1080p HD restorations of cult films from previous decades. Colour reproduction is very pleasing and exceptional and the variety of reds, blues, greens, browns, and blacks are very stable. There is no serious banding or aliasing issues. The high-definition transfer is also free of any large damage marks, scratches, and debris. All in all, the presentation is very pleasing to look at and presented in its best image clarity so far. Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘MATINEE’ is presented in a 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio sound track and the English audio track is stunning and it has a wide range of dynamics that open up the entire film very well. The final third of the film, in particular where things go seriously wrong, has some excellent sequences and check out the one where the balcony collapses. Award winning composer Jerry Goldsmith's film score also benefits from the stunning audio treatment, though its role is mostly to enhance the unique atmosphere in the film. The dialogue is very crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. For the record, there are no sync issue or audio dropouts to report in this particular review. So all in all this is a totally brilliant audio presentation.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High definition digital transfer supplied by NBC Universal via Hollywood Classics.
Special Feature: ARROW VIDEO Presents Bit Parts! The Joe Dante Players [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:07] Here we have a brand new exclusive special feature with Director Joe Dante and his recurring regular cast members discuss their collaboration towards making the film ‘MATINEE.’ Joe Dante talks a lot about his childhood and especially growing up watching lots of cartoons on the television. We also get inputs from the likes of Robert Picardo [Actor] recalling when first working with Joe Dante and has always loved working on all his films he has been involved with, and he also feels Joe Dante is a brilliant director. Archie Hahn [Actor] claims he would not have a film career were it not for being regularly cast by director Joe Dante. Belinda Balaski [Actress] reflects on the very different roles she gets as a character actor and would hate to be a big star, as the roles would be very limited. John Sayles [Actor] gives an idea what's required of a good day player and again enjoyed immensely working with Joe Dante, as he is a great director to work for. Dick Miller [Actor] in an extract from the enjoyable biographical documentary “That Guy Dick Miller,” and to this day still regards director Joe Dante as his favourite director and allowed him great freedom. We also get to view some rare behind-the-scenes filming via a very basic video quality in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Director and Producer: Elijah Drenner. Producers: Francesco Simeoni and Michael Mackenzie. Cinematography: Elle Schneider.
Special Feature: ARROW VIDEO Presents ATOMO-VISION! Making of ‘MATINEE’ with John Hora and Marshall Harvey [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [8:04] Here again we have a brand new exclusive special feature with Cinematographer John Hora and Editor Marshall Harvey discuss the making of ‘MATINEE,’ and especially working with Joe Dante. Director of Photography John Hora and Editor Marshall Harvey look back at the making of the film ‘MATINEE,’ and particularly the nature of their collaboration with Joe Dante. John Hora admits that he loves shooting period films but has only done two films, and revealingly explains how the camera angles become more stylised as the film progresses in order to ease the audience into the much wilder stuff you see in the film. Marshall Harvey meanwhile states that as an ex-editor himself, Joe Dante loves being in the editing room to help the process along and always shoots the film with the edit in mind. Marshall Harvey admits that working with Joe Dante in saying, "Being an editor can be frustrating and fun, but on a Joe Dante movie it's mostly fun." Again get to view some rare behind-the-scenes filming via a very basic video quality in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Director and Producer: Elijah Drenner. Producers: Francesco Simeoni and Michael Mackenzie. Cinematography: Elle Schneider.
Special Feature: Paranoia in Ant Vision [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [31:21] Here we have a discussion with director Joe Dante about making of the film ‘MATINEE,’ and was originally produced for the 2011 French Blu-ray disc release by Carlotta films. Before the interview starts we get the following information ALLERTON FILMS Présente PARANOÏA EN, FOURMI VISION, ou le PLAISIR D’avoir PEUR. Entretian avec JOE DANTE. Réalisé par MICHAEL HENRY WILSON. With this interview with Joe Dante is typically upbeat and is packed with interesting stories on the ‘MATINEE’ film and its making. In this exclusive interview, Joe Dante talks about his cinematic influences and comes back on the genesis of the film, to suit many personal anecdotes. It's always the same joy to see and hear the director of ‘Gremlins,’ tells us the about filming and the problematic genesis behind the film ‘MATINEE,’ especially the process of writing, re-writing and securing European funding, which ultimately failed to materialise and is covered in some detail, but having agreed to pick up the tab, Universal Pictures executive Tom Pollock's first reaction to the finished film was apparently "How am I going to sell this?" Joe Dante is also sceptical about the film, especially in relation to the discovery of the American psyche paranoia in 1962 with bristling anecdotes, as well as being very critical, as usual on the modern world and the cinema of today. The influence of Joe Dante's own memories and favourite genre films of the period are given appropriate coverage, as is the decision to loosely base Lawrence Woolsey on William Castle and Joe Dante even has a copy of the densely packed instructions manual sent to cinema managers on how to rig up their venues with the seat-buzzing “Percepto” for screenings of the Vincent Price film ‘The Tingler.’ You also get short clips of some of William Castle’s Black-and-White Theatrical Trailers, which Joe Dante thinks are totally brilliant and feels they are like mini films in themselves. Directed by Michael Henry Wilson [1946-2014] and was also into teaching film, writing about film, and to also turning to film production and screenwriting, and finally directing documentary films. His other passion was doing famous interviews like for instance with Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood.
Special Feature: Foreword by Joe Dante [2011] [1080p] 1.78:1] [6:18] Once again ALLERTON FILMS Présente Une, PRÉFACE De JOE DANTE that was originally produced for the 2011 French Blu-ray disc release by Carlotta films and again mixes in clips from the trailer with the aforementioned “Paranoia in Ant Vision” piece. Joes Dante goes into more details about the scenario of the film ‘MATINEE’ and his love of the 1960s period of Horror films and wanted his film to be homage to those genre style films. In his remarks, Joe Dante liked to say that it was not his work but that of Lawrence Woolsey.
Special Feature: MANT! [1993] [1080p] [1.85:1] [16:09] This is the full length black-and-white version of the film-with-in-a-film that features in the film ‘MATINEE,’ and edited together in chronological order and uninterrupted by blank cutaways, which really brings home just how great a job Joe Dante and cinematographer John Hora did on emulating the look and tone of science-fiction B-movies of the period and is the true gift of this special Blu-ray. The film is portrayed by some iconic players from the past, Kevin McCarthy `Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and but wanted to use Robert Cornthwaite, one of the stars of `The Thing from Another World,' but was not available at the time and Joe Dante draws strength from its ultra-serious way of telling its story. Like the works that inspired it, especially with the film ‘THEM!’ which was directed by Gordon Douglas, the various scientific exposes some big words to make about credible absurd premise: transformation after irradiation of a shoe salesman named Bill into a giant ant, and which obviously focuses children's fears of the film ‘MATINEE’ at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Joe Dante plays with sequences and stolen several time from other film dialogues and clips from other films of the same genre. It is hilarious seeing all the black-and-white parts of this particular film put together. There is one thing I think a lot of people will not notice especially in the scene in the street with the giant ant walking past the shop fronts, at one point you see the same scene in reverse, but if you look carefully at the shop front signs above the doors, the wording is in reverse. I was pleased to learn that this film-within-a-film was shot on monochrome film, and that Joe Dante's key instruction to the effects team was that they should not deliberately trash up the Mant’s head and creature, but make it look as good as they could for the sort of budget these films would have had in their day. If you look carefully you will see Dick Miller in the background when they fire the DDT insecticide nerve poison at the giant ant on the side of the buiding.
Special Feature: MANT! Trailer [1993] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:32] This is the Theatrical Trailer for Lawrence Woolsey's film ‘MANT!’ and it also opens as a masterpiece in itself which immediately echoes the nuclear threat. It is also a brilliant bit of pastiche that borrows footage from other genre B-movies, notably ‘The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms,’ and absolutely nails the graphical style of the titles and captions in saying "Half Man. Half Ant. All Terror!" and even includes an abrupt soundtrack splice-click at the end.
Special Feature: Original Electronic Press Kits [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [4:26] This is a typical Electronic Press Kits, in other words a studio promotional film of the period in its mix of interviews, especially behind-the-scenes footage and some film clips from the film, all framed in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio and having a very videotape look. Keeping the illusion alive and Simon Fenton, who is originally from England, retains an American accent even in interview. Contributors include Joe Dante [Director], Simon Fenton [Actor] and Cathy Moriarty [Actress].
Special Feature: Behind-the-Scenes Footage [1993 [480i] [1.33:1] [8:21] Here we have a welcome selection of rare on-set behind-the-scenes video footage from director Joe Dante's personal archive of the shooting of four sequences from the film ‘MATINEE.’ Unfortunately at certain scenes the sound quality is very poor.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [2:27] Here you get to view 5 deleted single-shot sequences, including a nicely performed exchange between Gene and his mother. Right at the very end there's a single frame of something that looks distinctly unrelated, but overall you can see why these particular scenes were deleted, as they would have slowed up the pace of the film.
Theatrical Trailer [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [1:55] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘MATINEE,' and is a lively and seductive sell that would have sent youngsters scurrying to the cinema. Unfortunately, this trailer must have been made for advertising on American television, as it was presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
PLUS: Beautiful Designed 20 page Booklet featuring new writing on the film ‘MATINEE’ by David Jenkins and entitled “What have you done for me? – On Joe Dante’s MATINEE.” It also includes Cast, Crew, About the Transfer, Production Credits and Special Thanks. It also has some wonderful colour images from the film. David Jenkins is the Editor for the celebrated film magazine “Little White Lies,” as well as discusses film in all its diverse guises with a growing audience of over 100,000 film-lovers. David Jenkins has written major features for all the best magazines in Britain, including Vogue, the Sunday Times Magazine, and Guardian Weekend magazine, GQ, Tatler, Vanity Fair, the Independent magazine, Time Out London, The Guardian and the Sight & Sound publication.
BONUS: Beautiful Designed Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys. Graham Humphreys is a British illustrator and visual artist best known for producing film posters. During the 1980s, Graham Humphreys worked with Palace Pictures, producing publicity material for films including ‘Dream Demon,’ ‘Basket Case,’ ‘The Evil Dead,’ ‘Evil Dead II,’ the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series, ‘Phenomena’ and ‘Santa Sangre.’
Finally, I am a massive big fan of Joe Dante's film work, and of course I absolutely love ‘MATINEE' and is an absolutely really wonderful charming brilliant film, and very big on the nostalgic theme genre of the 1960s period the film is set in, but it is also very original and very entertaining at the same time. The film also looks absolutely stunning on this Blu-ray disc. Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' is a brilliant re-watchable period piece film from beginning to end and I highly recommend this Blu-ray. Joe Dante also pays tribute to the great character of Lawrence Woosley, which of course pays homage by the inspirational filmmaker William Castle [1914 – 1977], the king of gimmicks, who invented in his 1950s films attractions, like plastic skeletons released over the heads of the audiences in the cinemas, vibrating chairs and other kitsch gimmicks. Joe Dante the director is a man who took pleasure in terrifying his audience and to eventually restore their comfort once the session is over. Joe Dante, is the ultimately lover of practical jokes, beautiful monsters and abundant imagination, but also the rejection of convention and austerity imposed adulthood and all the while gently making fun of his country. In the land of Joe Dante, nostalgia is king, and the satire is his servant. What is also beautiful about this Blu-ray release is the stunning beautiful designed cover that is printed both sides. When I first had this film on an NTSC LaserDisc, it has always been an all-time favourite film of mine. Then I moved onto a NTSC DVD, which was sort of okay, but now I have the ultimate edition in this stunning 1080p encoded Blu-ray disc adding ‘MATINEE' to my Blu-ray collection is definitely the ONE to own. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
HALF MAN... HALF ANT... ALL TERROR! So says the advertising campaign for MANT!, the latest low-budget schlock-horror classic from cigar-chomping producer Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman], who more than makes up for his films lack of production values by festooning them with gimmicks that would turn even William Castle’s film ‘The Tingler’ green with envy.
But the most potent gimmick of all is accidental: Lawrence Woolsey schedules a sneak preview of Mant! in Key West, Florida, in October 1962, unaware that the Cuban missile crisis is about to flare up. Will the threat of genuine nuclear war distract the locals from the movie, or will they find it doubly terrifying?
Directed by the legendary Joe Dante, this delightful film isn’t just an affectionate love-letter to the sci-fi and horror films that he grew up with in the 1950s and 1960s, it’s also a witty and intelligent exploration of the way that the most successful genre films worked by preying on the very real fears of their audiences about everything from Soviet satellite launches to atomic mutation.
Showman Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman] introduces Key West, in a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalises on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitsch horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and an actor in rubber suit in this salute to the B-movie. Although ‘MATINEE’ is set in October 1962, its other film within a film that is the family-oriented gimmick comedy ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart,’ featuring an anthropomorphic shopping cart, is a reference to some colour Walt Disney comedies and the film features a then-unknown Naomi Watts.
Cast: John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, Kellie Martin, Jesse Lee Soffer, Lucinda Jenney, James Villemaire, Robert Picardo, Jesse White, Dick Miller, John Sayles, David Clennon, Lucy Butler, Georgie Cranford, Nick Bronson, Cory Barlog, George Carson, Joe Gonzalez, Belinda Balaski, Charles S. Haas, Mark McCracken, Archie Hahn, Naomi Watts, Chris Stacy, Allison McKay, Richard Rossomme, D. Christian Gottshall, Elizabeth Dimon, Jacob Witkin, Timothy Bass, Jeff Breslauer, Molly Conole, Peggy O'Neal, Colette Piceau, Steve DuMouchel, Kurt Smildsin, Michael T. Kelly, Ike Pappas, Brett Rice, Robert Cornthwaite (uncredited), John F. Kennedy (archive footage) (uncredited), Art Linkletter (uncredited), Kevin McCarthy (uncredited), Sherrie Peterson (uncredited), William Schallert (uncredited), Adlai Stevenson (archive footage) Elijah Vorrasi (uncredited) and Valerian Zorin (archive footage) (uncredited)
Director: Joe Dante
Producers: Michael Finnell and Pat Kehoe
Screenplay: Charles S. Haas (story) and Jerico Stone (story)
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography: John Hora
Video Resolution: 1080p [Color by DeLuxe]
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 99 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Universal Pictures / Arrow Video
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘MATINEE’ [1993] is a hilarious and poetic chronicle of America's early 1960s and a beautiful declaration of love for cinema, by the immense prolific director Joe Dante. If there's one director who has paid dearly for his insolence towards the powerful Hollywood industry it is Joe Dante, whose name is often unknown to the general public at large and it is a totally real injustice. The man formerly protected by Steven Spielberg, who indeed staged a series of small film masterpieces that had a profound impact on children of the 1980s. Like the brilliant ‘The Howling’ [1980] is now mainly known for horror film genre enthusiasts, especially like the explosive ‘Indoor Adventure’ [1987] and the fantastic ‘Gremlins’ [1984] that are now cult films that remain for a whole generation of moviegoers. In reviewing these cult classic horror films, you can measure anyone born at a time when the typical "family film" was not synonymous with weakness and political incorrect scenario, but instead irreverence and fantasy. Because of Joe Dante’s ability to infuse a real breath of fresh air with all his blockbuster films that he has had under his responsibility and direction, Joe Dante remains one of the most emblematic adventurous directors that we have been blessed with his type and style of genre filmmaking.
As to the film ‘MATINEE’ [1993] it is October 1962 and an enterprising film promoter capitalises on the hysteria during the Cuban Missile Crisis, that is happening in the small seaside town of Key West in Florida and introduces the idea of live props and special effects at the local Key West cinema during the horror movie ‘MANT!’ We meet Gene Loomis [Simon Fenton], a teenager, and his brother Dennis Loomis [Jesse Lee Soffer], who live on the military base in the area of Key West; their father, who is in the Navy, is on an urgent mission aboard a submarine. The country is in turmoil since the televised announcement of President John F. Kennedy explaining that Soviet missiles were spotted in Cuba and that the Communist offensive enemy is more than likely. It is in this climate of terror that the director and "showman" Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman] is presenting his latest film attraction ‘MANT!’ of changing a man into a giant ant, following a nuclear accident! Gene Loomis meets Lawrence Woolsey, who he greatly admires, and helps in the preparation of its dramatic effects in the cinema while around them, plus there is the nuclear threat that will amplify...the feeling that the end of the world is nigh? Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' is a beautiful film that is guaranteed to appeal to children and adults alike. At its heart, it is a great tribute to the 1950s and 1960s monster films, which Joe Dante admired as a child. It is also full of energy and enormously entertaining.
John F. Kennedy interrupts television sets across the nation to warn of the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, and filmmaker Lawrence Woolsey decides to capitalise on the atmosphere of fear that is taking hold in Florida after the announcement. Lawrence Woolsey's latest film ‘MANT!’ just happens to be about an ant-human like killer hybrid that attacks only after atom bomb the turns into this frightful creature. Where better to open a film like this than in a small town near Key West, Florida, with its military base and close proximity to an apparent atomic threat? In addition to bringing his film to Key West, Florida, Lawrence Woolsey decides to drum up even more publicity for his film by bringing along a couple of pals Herb Denning [Dick Miller] and Bob [John Sayles] who pretend to protest about Lawrence Woolsey film.
Ambitious exploitation director Lawrence Woolsey has just arrived in Key West where his latest film will have its premiere. Lawrence Woolsey is hoping for a warm reception and a big cheque from the owner Howard [Robert Picardo] the Theatre Manager of the local cinema that will hopefully save Lawrence Woolsey career, and possibly even his relationship with his beautiful mistress, Ruth Corday [Cathy Moriarty], who has grown tired of following him around the country. To hype up the film, Lawrence Woolsey has secretly brought in a few old friends to protest its amorality in front of the theatre. When people gather to see what all the fuss is all about, Lawrence Woolsey begins handing out free tickets to attend the screening to support Lawrence Woolsey’s film ‘MANT!’
Soon after, Lawrence Woolsey wires the theatre seats with buzzers, and hires a guy to dress like a monster “Ant-Man” and run amok inside the cinema once the film begins. Lawrence Woolsey wants the screening to be special so that people would want to see the film again, and again, and again and pay for it again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, Gene Loomis [Simon Fenton], who is obsessed with monster films, and cannot, believe that the director Lawrence Woolsey has come to Key West. Gene Loomis is so excited that he has almost forgotten about the fact that his father, a navy officer, has been sent to Cuba.
The film works because its characters are alive. There are so many of these “feel-good” films nowadays where the characters utter their lines and the viewer immediately feel that they are meaningless. In ‘MATINEE,’ the lines are funny and awkward. They make sense because kids often say and do things that make perfect sense to them but not to us. The excited young kids also look genuinely excited when they enter the cinema because they know that the next two hours will be magical, even if the film was bad, like the one Lawrence Woolsey hypes up big time, we would see it again and again, because the atmosphere in the theatre was so special.
The film's serious side is also credible. With the world on a verge of a nuclear war, the adults look genuinely confused and scared. For a while, a few act as if everything is under control, but then they become paranoid, like everyone else. The script has this same sense of self-awareness, with Lawrence Woolsey pointing out "scientific" evidence to his audience and trying to emphasis the "IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!" aspect of his latest story. Just as much credit must be given to Charles S. Haas as to Joe Dante for this film's success as homage to the horror-corn of the past, since Charles Haas wrote the screenplay.
And what would a William Castle tribute/spoof be without a nod to his famous cinema gimmicks? In the case of Lawrence Woolsey's film ‘MANT!’ and Lawrence Woolsey the director announces that the film will be accompanied by "Atomovision." Little buzzers are attached to the seats in the local theatre, just as they were for William Castle's ‘The Tingler.' Attendees must sign a contract with a "nurse" in case they die during the screening. Lawrence Woolsey even shows up at the cinema and hands out free passes to his latest film to counteract the fake protest he created!
`MATINEE' is fun because of its seriousness to tell an extraordinary story, by its way to live a character in science fiction in an ultra-mundane, everyday world. The actors all play in making tons. We also understand, through ‘MANT!’ shows how horror films were distilling their political discourse. For ‘MANT!’ the ant is simply the foreign element that will slowly devour the soul of a brave American lambda. In a curious scene, military and scientific clash over how to fight the enemy, either by science that brings compassion either by arms. William Castle's influence is most apparent, though, and Joe Dante and Charles S. Haas clearly have all of the knowledge of and respect for William Castle's work required to pay tribute to it successfully. Even the duality of fright and silliness in William Castle's films is emphasised by ‘MARINEE' with younger 8 year old brother Dennis Loomis becoming frequently scared during that ‘MANT!’ preview in the opening, while Gene Loomis acts aloof... but finds himself jumping, too, eventually.
As always with director Joe Dante, the cast is outstanding, starting with the young actors, all of a very high calibre and the supporting roles are no exception. Besides the presence of several faithful friends of the director, like the excellent Dick Miller and Robert Picardo in the lead, we note the performance of Cathy Moriarty, whose humour deadpan laugh scores at each of its replicas. Note also the brief appearance of the young Naomi Watts, who made her debut here in the ‘MATINEE’ film. Regarding the hilarious Lawrence Woolsey producer, it is interpreted by the always great performance of John Goodman, who just created one of the best performances of his career, and a genuine cartoon character unto itself, as well as both a businessman, showman and great kid trapped in an adult body, it is the master of ceremonies of the most beautiful declarations of love that we have in the cinema that we get to see.
Note that in ‘MATINEE' there is another film genre parody going on, this time it is a pastiche homage to family Walt Disney productions with Dean Jones in the early 1960s that Joe Dante also produced: ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart.’ At that time, Walt Disney liked to animate objects with a human soul. Joe Dante imagined an old man reincarnated into supermarket trolley, which has the same slapstick humour, outrageous same direction, same stupid dialogue, but the female lead is held by a young unknown actress the then Naomi Watts. Note that in ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart’ that we can see nuns walking down the street, figures that Joe Dante likes fit into all his films. So I consider ‘MATINEE' is a must-see for all fans of the William Castle genre or for mid-century film buffs of any type. It is an extremely entertaining film in its own right, but is especially enjoyable for its homage to one of my favourite cult horror filmmakers William Castle, the king of the corn. But of course another part of making this fantastic film what it is, and the brilliant reflection of the period in the America psyche in the 1960s, is the awesome music of that era and here below is what you will hear throughout the film, enjoy!
MATINEE MUSIC TRACK LISTING
THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT [Performed by The Tokens]
LOCO-MOTION [Performed by Little Eva]
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE [Performed by Gene Pitney]
WALK, DON’T RUN [Performed by The Challengers]
MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK [Performed by The Angels]
THE END OF THE WORLD [Performed by Skeeter Davis]
JOHNNY ANGEL [Performed by Shelley Fabares]
THE GREAT PRETENDER [Performed by The Platters]
MONSTER ATTACK from ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ [1954] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Son of Dracula’ [1943] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
STALKING THE CREATURE from ‘The Creature Walks Among Us’ [1956] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Tarantula’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
WINGED DEATH from ‘The Deadly Mantis’ [1957] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
VISITORS from 'It Came from Outer Space' [1953] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Revenge of the Creature’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘This Island Earth’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
SHOOTING STARS from ‘This Island Earth’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
Blu-ray Video Quality – Arrow Video presents us the film ‘MATINEE' in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and encoded with a stunning gorgeous 1080p image transfer and showcasing John Hora's luminous brilliant cinematography. Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' arrives exclusive on this Blu-ray disc courtesy of Arrow Video. The high-definition transfer is very good and especially outside and inside the theatre detail is very good, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels are very stable and delivering consistently sharp detail, a generous contrast range and sumptuous colour, with crisp black levels, naturalistic skin tones and vividly rendered primes. Virtually spotless and displaying a very fine level of film grain, this is a real showcase for 1080p HD restorations of cult films from previous decades. Colour reproduction is very pleasing and exceptional and the variety of reds, blues, greens, browns, and blacks are very stable. There is no serious banding or aliasing issues. The high-definition transfer is also free of any large damage marks, scratches, and debris. All in all, the presentation is very pleasing to look at and presented in its best image clarity so far. Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘MATINEE’ is presented in a 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio sound track and the English audio track is stunning and it has a wide range of dynamics that open up the entire film very well. The final third of the film, in particular where things go seriously wrong, has some excellent sequences and check out the one where the balcony collapses. Award winning composer Jerry Goldsmith's film score also benefits from the stunning audio treatment, though its role is mostly to enhance the unique atmosphere in the film. The dialogue is very crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. For the record, there are no sync issue or audio dropouts to report in this particular review. So all in all this is a totally brilliant audio presentation.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High definition digital transfer supplied by NBC Universal via Hollywood Classics.
Special Feature: ARROW VIDEO Presents Bit Parts! The Joe Dante Players [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:07] Here we have a brand new exclusive special feature with Director Joe Dante and his recurring regular cast members discuss their collaboration towards making the film ‘MATINEE.’ Joe Dante talks a lot about his childhood and especially growing up watching lots of cartoons on the television. We also get inputs from the likes of Robert Picardo [Actor] recalling when first working with Joe Dante and has always loved working on all his films he has been involved with, and he also feels Joe Dante is a brilliant director. Archie Hahn [Actor] claims he would not have a film career were it not for being regularly cast by director Joe Dante. Belinda Balaski [Actress] reflects on the very different roles she gets as a character actor and would hate to be a big star, as the roles would be very limited. John Sayles [Actor] gives an idea what's required of a good day player and again enjoyed immensely working with Joe Dante, as he is a great director to work for. Dick Miller [Actor] in an extract from the enjoyable biographical documentary “That Guy Dick Miller,” and to this day still regards director Joe Dante as his favourite director and allowed him great freedom. We also get to view some rare behind-the-scenes filming via a very basic video quality in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Director and Producer: Elijah Drenner. Producers: Francesco Simeoni and Michael Mackenzie. Cinematography: Elle Schneider.
Special Feature: ARROW VIDEO Presents ATOMO-VISION! Making of ‘MATINEE’ with John Hora and Marshall Harvey [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [8:04] Here again we have a brand new exclusive special feature with Cinematographer John Hora and Editor Marshall Harvey discuss the making of ‘MATINEE,’ and especially working with Joe Dante. Director of Photography John Hora and Editor Marshall Harvey look back at the making of the film ‘MATINEE,’ and particularly the nature of their collaboration with Joe Dante. John Hora admits that he loves shooting period films but has only done two films, and revealingly explains how the camera angles become more stylised as the film progresses in order to ease the audience into the much wilder stuff you see in the film. Marshall Harvey meanwhile states that as an ex-editor himself, Joe Dante loves being in the editing room to help the process along and always shoots the film with the edit in mind. Marshall Harvey admits that working with Joe Dante in saying, "Being an editor can be frustrating and fun, but on a Joe Dante movie it's mostly fun." Again get to view some rare behind-the-scenes filming via a very basic video quality in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Director and Producer: Elijah Drenner. Producers: Francesco Simeoni and Michael Mackenzie. Cinematography: Elle Schneider.
Special Feature: Paranoia in Ant Vision [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [31:21] Here we have a discussion with director Joe Dante about making of the film ‘MATINEE,’ and was originally produced for the 2011 French Blu-ray disc release by Carlotta films. Before the interview starts we get the following information ALLERTON FILMS Présente PARANOÏA EN, FOURMI VISION, ou le PLAISIR D’avoir PEUR. Entretian avec JOE DANTE. Réalisé par MICHAEL HENRY WILSON. With this interview with Joe Dante is typically upbeat and is packed with interesting stories on the ‘MATINEE’ film and its making. In this exclusive interview, Joe Dante talks about his cinematic influences and comes back on the genesis of the film, to suit many personal anecdotes. It's always the same joy to see and hear the director of ‘Gremlins,’ tells us the about filming and the problematic genesis behind the film ‘MATINEE,’ especially the process of writing, re-writing and securing European funding, which ultimately failed to materialise and is covered in some detail, but having agreed to pick up the tab, Universal Pictures executive Tom Pollock's first reaction to the finished film was apparently "How am I going to sell this?" Joe Dante is also sceptical about the film, especially in relation to the discovery of the American psyche paranoia in 1962 with bristling anecdotes, as well as being very critical, as usual on the modern world and the cinema of today. The influence of Joe Dante's own memories and favourite genre films of the period are given appropriate coverage, as is the decision to loosely base Lawrence Woolsey on William Castle and Joe Dante even has a copy of the densely packed instructions manual sent to cinema managers on how to rig up their venues with the seat-buzzing “Percepto” for screenings of the Vincent Price film ‘The Tingler.’ You also get short clips of some of William Castle’s Black-and-White Theatrical Trailers, which Joe Dante thinks are totally brilliant and feels they are like mini films in themselves. Directed by Michael Henry Wilson [1946-2014] and was also into teaching film, writing about film, and to also turning to film production and screenwriting, and finally directing documentary films. His other passion was doing famous interviews like for instance with Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood.
Special Feature: Foreword by Joe Dante [2011] [1080p] 1.78:1] [6:18] Once again ALLERTON FILMS Présente Une, PRÉFACE De JOE DANTE that was originally produced for the 2011 French Blu-ray disc release by Carlotta films and again mixes in clips from the trailer with the aforementioned “Paranoia in Ant Vision” piece. Joes Dante goes into more details about the scenario of the film ‘MATINEE’ and his love of the 1960s period of Horror films and wanted his film to be homage to those genre style films. In his remarks, Joe Dante liked to say that it was not his work but that of Lawrence Woolsey.
Special Feature: MANT! [1993] [1080p] [1.85:1] [16:09] This is the full length black-and-white version of the film-with-in-a-film that features in the film ‘MATINEE,’ and edited together in chronological order and uninterrupted by blank cutaways, which really brings home just how great a job Joe Dante and cinematographer John Hora did on emulating the look and tone of science-fiction B-movies of the period and is the true gift of this special Blu-ray. The film is portrayed by some iconic players from the past, Kevin McCarthy `Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and but wanted to use Robert Cornthwaite, one of the stars of `The Thing from Another World,' but was not available at the time and Joe Dante draws strength from its ultra-serious way of telling its story. Like the works that inspired it, especially with the film ‘THEM!’ which was directed by Gordon Douglas, the various scientific exposes some big words to make about credible absurd premise: transformation after irradiation of a shoe salesman named Bill into a giant ant, and which obviously focuses children's fears of the film ‘MATINEE’ at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Joe Dante plays with sequences and stolen several time from other film dialogues and clips from other films of the same genre. It is hilarious seeing all the black-and-white parts of this particular film put together. There is one thing I think a lot of people will not notice especially in the scene in the street with the giant ant walking past the shop fronts, at one point you see the same scene in reverse, but if you look carefully at the shop front signs above the doors, the wording is in reverse. I was pleased to learn that this film-within-a-film was shot on monochrome film, and that Joe Dante's key instruction to the effects team was that they should not deliberately trash up the Mant’s head and creature, but make it look as good as they could for the sort of budget these films would have had in their day. If you look carefully you will see Dick Miller in the background when they fire the DDT insecticide nerve poison at the giant ant on the side of the buiding.
Special Feature: MANT! Trailer [1993] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:32] This is the Theatrical Trailer for Lawrence Woolsey's film ‘MANT!’ and it also opens as a masterpiece in itself which immediately echoes the nuclear threat. It is also a brilliant bit of pastiche that borrows footage from other genre B-movies, notably ‘The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms,’ and absolutely nails the graphical style of the titles and captions in saying "Half Man. Half Ant. All Terror!" and even includes an abrupt soundtrack splice-click at the end.
Special Feature: Original Electronic Press Kits [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [4:26] This is a typical Electronic Press Kits, in other words a studio promotional film of the period in its mix of interviews, especially behind-the-scenes footage and some film clips from the film, all framed in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio and having a very videotape look. Keeping the illusion alive and Simon Fenton, who is originally from England, retains an American accent even in interview. Contributors include Joe Dante [Director], Simon Fenton [Actor] and Cathy Moriarty [Actress].
Special Feature: Behind-the-Scenes Footage [1993 [480i] [1.33:1] [8:21] Here we have a welcome selection of rare on-set behind-the-scenes video footage from director Joe Dante's personal archive of the shooting of four sequences from the film ‘MATINEE.’ Unfortunately at certain scenes the sound quality is very poor.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [2:27] Here you get to view 5 deleted single-shot sequences, including a nicely performed exchange between Gene and his mother. Right at the very end there's a single frame of something that looks distinctly unrelated, but overall you can see why these particular scenes were deleted, as they would have slowed up the pace of the film.
Theatrical Trailer [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [1:55] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘MATINEE,' and is a lively and seductive sell that would have sent youngsters scurrying to the cinema. Unfortunately, this trailer must have been made for advertising on American television, as it was presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
PLUS: Beautiful Designed 20 page Booklet featuring new writing on the film ‘MATINEE’ by David Jenkins and entitled “What have you done for me? – On Joe Dante’s MATINEE.” It also includes Cast, Crew, About the Transfer, Production Credits and Special Thanks. It also has some wonderful colour images from the film. David Jenkins is the Editor for the celebrated film magazine “Little White Lies,” as well as discusses film in all its diverse guises with a growing audience of over 100,000 film-lovers. David Jenkins has written major features for all the best magazines in Britain, including Vogue, the Sunday Times Magazine, and Guardian Weekend magazine, GQ, Tatler, Vanity Fair, the Independent magazine, Time Out London, The Guardian and the Sight & Sound publication.
BONUS: Beautiful Designed Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys. Graham Humphreys is a British illustrator and visual artist best known for producing film posters. During the 1980s, Graham Humphreys worked with Palace Pictures, producing publicity material for films including ‘Dream Demon,’ ‘Basket Case,’ ‘The Evil Dead,’ ‘Evil Dead II,’ the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series, ‘Phenomena’ and ‘Santa Sangre.’
Finally, I am a massive big fan of Joe Dante's film work, and of course I absolutely love ‘MATINEE' and is an absolutely really wonderful charming brilliant film, and very big on the nostalgic theme genre of the 1960s period the film is set in, but it is also very original and very entertaining at the same time. The film also looks absolutely stunning on this Blu-ray disc. Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' is a brilliant re-watchable period piece film from beginning to end and I highly recommend this Blu-ray. Joe Dante also pays tribute to the great character of Lawrence Woosley, which of course pays homage by the inspirational filmmaker William Castle [1914 – 1977], the king of gimmicks, who invented in his 1950s films attractions, like plastic skeletons released over the heads of the audiences in the cinemas, vibrating chairs and other kitsch gimmicks. Joe Dante the director is a man who took pleasure in terrifying his audience and to eventually restore their comfort once the session is over. Joe Dante, is the ultimately lover of practical jokes, beautiful monsters and abundant imagination, but also the rejection of convention and austerity imposed adulthood and all the while gently making fun of his country. In the land of Joe Dante, nostalgia is king, and the satire is his servant. What is also beautiful about this Blu-ray release is the stunning beautiful designed cover that is printed both sides. When I first had this film on an NTSC LaserDisc, it has always been an all-time favourite film of mine. Then I moved onto a NTSC DVD, which was sort of okay, but now I have the ultimate edition in this stunning 1080p encoded Blu-ray disc adding ‘MATINEE' to my Blu-ray collection is definitely the ONE to own. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
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5.0 out of 5 stars
MATINEE [1993 / 2016] [Blu-ray + DVD]
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2017
MATINEE [1993 / 2016] [Blu-ray + DVD] Half Man... Half Ant... All Terror! MATINEE: A Cinematic Love Letter to the Films of William Castle! Duck for Cover in Atomo-Vision and Rumble-Rama!
HALF MAN... HALF ANT... ALL TERROR! So says the advertising campaign for MANT!, the latest low-budget schlock-horror classic from cigar-chomping producer Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman], who more than makes up for his films lack of production values by festooning them with gimmicks that would turn even William Castle’s film ‘The Tingler’ green with envy.
But the most potent gimmick of all is accidental: Lawrence Woolsey schedules a sneak preview of Mant! in Key West, Florida, in October 1962, unaware that the Cuban missile crisis is about to flare up. Will the threat of genuine nuclear war distract the locals from the movie, or will they find it doubly terrifying?
Directed by the legendary Joe Dante, this delightful film isn’t just an affectionate love-letter to the sci-fi and horror films that he grew up with in the 1950s and 1960s, it’s also a witty and intelligent exploration of the way that the most successful genre films worked by preying on the very real fears of their audiences about everything from Soviet satellite launches to atomic mutation.
Showman Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman] introduces Key West, in a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalises on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitsch horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and an actor in rubber suit in this salute to the B-movie. Although ‘MATINEE’ is set in October 1962, its other film within a film that is the family-oriented gimmick comedy ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart,’ featuring an anthropomorphic shopping cart, is a reference to some colour Walt Disney comedies and the film features a then-unknown Naomi Watts.
Cast: John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, Kellie Martin, Jesse Lee Soffer, Lucinda Jenney, James Villemaire, Robert Picardo, Jesse White, Dick Miller, John Sayles, David Clennon, Lucy Butler, Georgie Cranford, Nick Bronson, Cory Barlog, George Carson, Joe Gonzalez, Belinda Balaski, Charles S. Haas, Mark McCracken, Archie Hahn, Naomi Watts, Chris Stacy, Allison McKay, Richard Rossomme, D. Christian Gottshall, Elizabeth Dimon, Jacob Witkin, Timothy Bass, Jeff Breslauer, Molly Conole, Peggy O'Neal, Colette Piceau, Steve DuMouchel, Kurt Smildsin, Michael T. Kelly, Ike Pappas, Brett Rice, Robert Cornthwaite (uncredited), John F. Kennedy (archive footage) (uncredited), Art Linkletter (uncredited), Kevin McCarthy (uncredited), Sherrie Peterson (uncredited), William Schallert (uncredited), Adlai Stevenson (archive footage) Elijah Vorrasi (uncredited) and Valerian Zorin (archive footage) (uncredited)
Director: Joe Dante
Producers: Michael Finnell and Pat Kehoe
Screenplay: Charles S. Haas (story) and Jerico Stone (story)
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography: John Hora
Video Resolution: 1080p [Color by DeLuxe]
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 99 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Universal Pictures / Arrow Video
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘MATINEE’ [1993] is a hilarious and poetic chronicle of America's early 1960s and a beautiful declaration of love for cinema, by the immense prolific director Joe Dante. If there's one director who has paid dearly for his insolence towards the powerful Hollywood industry it is Joe Dante, whose name is often unknown to the general public at large and it is a totally real injustice. The man formerly protected by Steven Spielberg, who indeed staged a series of small film masterpieces that had a profound impact on children of the 1980s. Like the brilliant ‘The Howling’ [1980] is now mainly known for horror film genre enthusiasts, especially like the explosive ‘Indoor Adventure’ [1987] and the fantastic ‘Gremlins’ [1984] that are now cult films that remain for a whole generation of moviegoers. In reviewing these cult classic horror films, you can measure anyone born at a time when the typical "family film" was not synonymous with weakness and political incorrect scenario, but instead irreverence and fantasy. Because of Joe Dante’s ability to infuse a real breath of fresh air with all his blockbuster films that he has had under his responsibility and direction, Joe Dante remains one of the most emblematic adventurous directors that we have been blessed with his type and style of genre filmmaking.
As to the film ‘MATINEE’ [1993] it is October 1962 and an enterprising film promoter capitalises on the hysteria during the Cuban Missile Crisis, that is happening in the small seaside town of Key West in Florida and introduces the idea of live props and special effects at the local Key West cinema during the horror movie ‘MANT!’ We meet Gene Loomis [Simon Fenton], a teenager, and his brother Dennis Loomis [Jesse Lee Soffer], who live on the military base in the area of Key West; their father, who is in the Navy, is on an urgent mission aboard a submarine. The country is in turmoil since the televised announcement of President John F. Kennedy explaining that Soviet missiles were spotted in Cuba and that the Communist offensive enemy is more than likely. It is in this climate of terror that the director and "showman" Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman] is presenting his latest film attraction ‘MANT!’ of changing a man into a giant ant, following a nuclear accident! Gene Loomis meets Lawrence Woolsey, who he greatly admires, and helps in the preparation of its dramatic effects in the cinema while around them, plus there is the nuclear threat that will amplify...the feeling that the end of the world is nigh? Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' is a beautiful film that is guaranteed to appeal to children and adults alike. At its heart, it is a great tribute to the 1950s and 1960s monster films, which Joe Dante admired as a child. It is also full of energy and enormously entertaining.
John F. Kennedy interrupts television sets across the nation to warn of the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, and filmmaker Lawrence Woolsey decides to capitalise on the atmosphere of fear that is taking hold in Florida after the announcement. Lawrence Woolsey's latest film ‘MANT!’ just happens to be about an ant-human like killer hybrid that attacks only after atom bomb the turns into this frightful creature. Where better to open a film like this than in a small town near Key West, Florida, with its military base and close proximity to an apparent atomic threat? In addition to bringing his film to Key West, Florida, Lawrence Woolsey decides to drum up even more publicity for his film by bringing along a couple of pals Herb Denning [Dick Miller] and Bob [John Sayles] who pretend to protest about Lawrence Woolsey film.
Ambitious exploitation director Lawrence Woolsey has just arrived in Key West where his latest film will have its premiere. Lawrence Woolsey is hoping for a warm reception and a big cheque from the owner Howard [Robert Picardo] the Theatre Manager of the local cinema that will hopefully save Lawrence Woolsey career, and possibly even his relationship with his beautiful mistress, Ruth Corday [Cathy Moriarty], who has grown tired of following him around the country. To hype up the film, Lawrence Woolsey has secretly brought in a few old friends to protest its amorality in front of the theatre. When people gather to see what all the fuss is all about, Lawrence Woolsey begins handing out free tickets to attend the screening to support Lawrence Woolsey’s film ‘MANT!’
Soon after, Lawrence Woolsey wires the theatre seats with buzzers, and hires a guy to dress like a monster “Ant-Man” and run amok inside the cinema once the film begins. Lawrence Woolsey wants the screening to be special so that people would want to see the film again, and again, and again and pay for it again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, Gene Loomis [Simon Fenton], who is obsessed with monster films, and cannot, believe that the director Lawrence Woolsey has come to Key West. Gene Loomis is so excited that he has almost forgotten about the fact that his father, a navy officer, has been sent to Cuba.
The film works because its characters are alive. There are so many of these “feel-good” films nowadays where the characters utter their lines and the viewer immediately feel that they are meaningless. In ‘MATINEE,’ the lines are funny and awkward. They make sense because kids often say and do things that make perfect sense to them but not to us. The excited young kids also look genuinely excited when they enter the cinema because they know that the next two hours will be magical, even if the film was bad, like the one Lawrence Woolsey hypes up big time, we would see it again and again, because the atmosphere in the theatre was so special.
The film's serious side is also credible. With the world on a verge of a nuclear war, the adults look genuinely confused and scared. For a while, a few act as if everything is under control, but then they become paranoid, like everyone else. The script has this same sense of self-awareness, with Lawrence Woolsey pointing out "scientific" evidence to his audience and trying to emphasis the "IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!" aspect of his latest story. Just as much credit must be given to Charles S. Haas as to Joe Dante for this film's success as homage to the horror-corn of the past, since Charles Haas wrote the screenplay.
And what would a William Castle tribute/spoof be without a nod to his famous cinema gimmicks? In the case of Lawrence Woolsey's film ‘MANT!’ and Lawrence Woolsey the director announces that the film will be accompanied by "Atomovision." Little buzzers are attached to the seats in the local theatre, just as they were for William Castle's ‘The Tingler.' Attendees must sign a contract with a "nurse" in case they die during the screening. Lawrence Woolsey even shows up at the cinema and hands out free passes to his latest film to counteract the fake protest he created!
`MATINEE' is fun because of its seriousness to tell an extraordinary story, by its way to live a character in science fiction in an ultra-mundane, everyday world. The actors all play in making tons. We also understand, through ‘MANT!’ shows how horror films were distilling their political discourse. For ‘MANT!’ the ant is simply the foreign element that will slowly devour the soul of a brave American lambda. In a curious scene, military and scientific clash over how to fight the enemy, either by science that brings compassion either by arms. William Castle's influence is most apparent, though, and Joe Dante and Charles S. Haas clearly have all of the knowledge of and respect for William Castle's work required to pay tribute to it successfully. Even the duality of fright and silliness in William Castle's films is emphasised by ‘MARINEE' with younger 8 year old brother Dennis Loomis becoming frequently scared during that ‘MANT!’ preview in the opening, while Gene Loomis acts aloof... but finds himself jumping, too, eventually.
As always with director Joe Dante, the cast is outstanding, starting with the young actors, all of a very high calibre and the supporting roles are no exception. Besides the presence of several faithful friends of the director, like the excellent Dick Miller and Robert Picardo in the lead, we note the performance of Cathy Moriarty, whose humour deadpan laugh scores at each of its replicas. Note also the brief appearance of the young Naomi Watts, who made her debut here in the ‘MATINEE’ film. Regarding the hilarious Lawrence Woolsey producer, it is interpreted by the always great performance of John Goodman, who just created one of the best performances of his career, and a genuine cartoon character unto itself, as well as both a businessman, showman and great kid trapped in an adult body, it is the master of ceremonies of the most beautiful declarations of love that we have in the cinema that we get to see.
Note that in ‘MATINEE' there is another film genre parody going on, this time it is a pastiche homage to family Walt Disney productions with Dean Jones in the early 1960s that Joe Dante also produced: ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart.’ At that time, Walt Disney liked to animate objects with a human soul. Joe Dante imagined an old man reincarnated into supermarket trolley, which has the same slapstick humour, outrageous same direction, same stupid dialogue, but the female lead is held by a young unknown actress the then Naomi Watts. Note that in ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart’ that we can see nuns walking down the street, figures that Joe Dante likes fit into all his films. So I consider ‘MATINEE' is a must-see for all fans of the William Castle genre or for mid-century film buffs of any type. It is an extremely entertaining film in its own right, but is especially enjoyable for its homage to one of my favourite cult horror filmmakers William Castle, the king of the corn. But of course another part of making this fantastic film what it is, and the brilliant reflection of the period in the America psyche in the 1960s, is the awesome music of that era and here below is what you will hear throughout the film, enjoy!
MATINEE MUSIC TRACK LISTING
THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT [Performed by The Tokens]
LOCO-MOTION [Performed by Little Eva]
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE [Performed by Gene Pitney]
WALK, DON’T RUN [Performed by The Challengers]
MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK [Performed by The Angels]
THE END OF THE WORLD [Performed by Skeeter Davis]
JOHNNY ANGEL [Performed by Shelley Fabares]
THE GREAT PRETENDER [Performed by The Platters]
MONSTER ATTACK from ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ [1954] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Son of Dracula’ [1943] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
STALKING THE CREATURE from ‘The Creature Walks Among Us’ [1956] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Tarantula’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
WINGED DEATH from ‘The Deadly Mantis’ [1957] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
VISITORS from 'It Came from Outer Space' [1953] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Revenge of the Creature’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘This Island Earth’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
SHOOTING STARS from ‘This Island Earth’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
Blu-ray Video Quality – Arrow Video presents us the film ‘MATINEE' in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and encoded with a stunning gorgeous 1080p image transfer and showcasing John Hora's luminous brilliant cinematography. Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' arrives exclusive on this Blu-ray disc courtesy of Arrow Video. The high-definition transfer is very good and especially outside and inside the theatre detail is very good, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels are very stable and delivering consistently sharp detail, a generous contrast range and sumptuous colour, with crisp black levels, naturalistic skin tones and vividly rendered primes. Virtually spotless and displaying a very fine level of film grain, this is a real showcase for 1080p HD restorations of cult films from previous decades. Colour reproduction is very pleasing and exceptional and the variety of reds, blues, greens, browns, and blacks are very stable. There is no serious banding or aliasing issues. The high-definition transfer is also free of any large damage marks, scratches, and debris. All in all, the presentation is very pleasing to look at and presented in its best image clarity so far. Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘MATINEE’ is presented in a 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio sound track and the English audio track is stunning and it has a wide range of dynamics that open up the entire film very well. The final third of the film, in particular where things go seriously wrong, has some excellent sequences and check out the one where the balcony collapses. Award winning composer Jerry Goldsmith's film score also benefits from the stunning audio treatment, though its role is mostly to enhance the unique atmosphere in the film. The dialogue is very crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. For the record, there are no sync issue or audio dropouts to report in this particular review. So all in all this is a totally brilliant audio presentation.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High definition digital transfer supplied by NBC Universal via Hollywood Classics.
Special Feature: ARROW VIDEO Presents Bit Parts! The Joe Dante Players [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:07] Here we have a brand new exclusive special feature with Director Joe Dante and his recurring regular cast members discuss their collaboration towards making the film ‘MATINEE.’ Joe Dante talks a lot about his childhood and especially growing up watching lots of cartoons on the television. We also get inputs from the likes of Robert Picardo [Actor] recalling when first working with Joe Dante and has always loved working on all his films he has been involved with, and he also feels Joe Dante is a brilliant director. Archie Hahn [Actor] claims he would not have a film career were it not for being regularly cast by director Joe Dante. Belinda Balaski [Actress] reflects on the very different roles she gets as a character actor and would hate to be a big star, as the roles would be very limited. John Sayles [Actor] gives an idea what's required of a good day player and again enjoyed immensely working with Joe Dante, as he is a great director to work for. Dick Miller [Actor] in an extract from the enjoyable biographical documentary “That Guy Dick Miller,” and to this day still regards director Joe Dante as his favourite director and allowed him great freedom. We also get to view some rare behind-the-scenes filming via a very basic video quality in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Director and Producer: Elijah Drenner. Producers: Francesco Simeoni and Michael Mackenzie. Cinematography: Elle Schneider.
Special Feature: ARROW VIDEO Presents ATOMO-VISION! Making of ‘MATINEE’ with John Hora and Marshall Harvey [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [8:04] Here again we have a brand new exclusive special feature with Cinematographer John Hora and Editor Marshall Harvey discuss the making of ‘MATINEE,’ and especially working with Joe Dante. Director of Photography John Hora and Editor Marshall Harvey look back at the making of the film ‘MATINEE,’ and particularly the nature of their collaboration with Joe Dante. John Hora admits that he loves shooting period films but has only done two films, and revealingly explains how the camera angles become more stylised as the film progresses in order to ease the audience into the much wilder stuff you see in the film. Marshall Harvey meanwhile states that as an ex-editor himself, Joe Dante loves being in the editing room to help the process along and always shoots the film with the edit in mind. Marshall Harvey admits that working with Joe Dante in saying, "Being an editor can be frustrating and fun, but on a Joe Dante movie it's mostly fun." Again get to view some rare behind-the-scenes filming via a very basic video quality in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Director and Producer: Elijah Drenner. Producers: Francesco Simeoni and Michael Mackenzie. Cinematography: Elle Schneider.
Special Feature: Paranoia in Ant Vision [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [31:21] Here we have a discussion with director Joe Dante about making of the film ‘MATINEE,’ and was originally produced for the 2011 French Blu-ray disc release by Carlotta films. Before the interview starts we get the following information ALLERTON FILMS Présente PARANOÏA EN, FOURMI VISION, ou le PLAISIR D’avoir PEUR. Entretian avec JOE DANTE. Réalisé par MICHAEL HENRY WILSON. With this interview with Joe Dante is typically upbeat and is packed with interesting stories on the ‘MATINEE’ film and its making. In this exclusive interview, Joe Dante talks about his cinematic influences and comes back on the genesis of the film, to suit many personal anecdotes. It's always the same joy to see and hear the director of ‘Gremlins,’ tells us the about filming and the problematic genesis behind the film ‘MATINEE,’ especially the process of writing, re-writing and securing European funding, which ultimately failed to materialise and is covered in some detail, but having agreed to pick up the tab, Universal Pictures executive Tom Pollock's first reaction to the finished film was apparently "How am I going to sell this?" Joe Dante is also sceptical about the film, especially in relation to the discovery of the American psyche paranoia in 1962 with bristling anecdotes, as well as being very critical, as usual on the modern world and the cinema of today. The influence of Joe Dante's own memories and favourite genre films of the period are given appropriate coverage, as is the decision to loosely base Lawrence Woolsey on William Castle and Joe Dante even has a copy of the densely packed instructions manual sent to cinema managers on how to rig up their venues with the seat-buzzing “Percepto” for screenings of the Vincent Price film ‘The Tingler.’ You also get short clips of some of William Castle’s Black-and-White Theatrical Trailers, which Joe Dante thinks are totally brilliant and feels they are like mini films in themselves. Directed by Michael Henry Wilson [1946-2014] and was also into teaching film, writing about film, and to also turning to film production and screenwriting, and finally directing documentary films. His other passion was doing famous interviews like for instance with Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood.
Special Feature: Foreword by Joe Dante [2011] [1080p] 1.78:1] [6:18] Once again ALLERTON FILMS Présente Une, PRÉFACE De JOE DANTE that was originally produced for the 2011 French Blu-ray disc release by Carlotta films and again mixes in clips from the trailer with the aforementioned “Paranoia in Ant Vision” piece. Joes Dante goes into more details about the scenario of the film ‘MATINEE’ and his love of the 1960s period of Horror films and wanted his film to be homage to those genre style films. In his remarks, Joe Dante liked to say that it was not his work but that of Lawrence Woolsey.
Special Feature: MANT! [1993] [1080p] [1.85:1] [16:09] This is the full length black-and-white version of the film-with-in-a-film that features in the film ‘MATINEE,’ and edited together in chronological order and uninterrupted by blank cutaways, which really brings home just how great a job Joe Dante and cinematographer John Hora did on emulating the look and tone of science-fiction B-movies of the period and is the true gift of this special Blu-ray. The film is portrayed by some iconic players from the past, Kevin McCarthy `Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and but wanted to use Robert Cornthwaite, one of the stars of `The Thing from Another World,' but was not available at the time and Joe Dante draws strength from its ultra-serious way of telling its story. Like the works that inspired it, especially with the film ‘THEM!’ which was directed by Gordon Douglas, the various scientific exposes some big words to make about credible absurd premise: transformation after irradiation of a shoe salesman named Bill into a giant ant, and which obviously focuses children's fears of the film ‘MATINEE’ at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Joe Dante plays with sequences and stolen several time from other film dialogues and clips from other films of the same genre. It is hilarious seeing all the black-and-white parts of this particular film put together. There is one thing I think a lot of people will not notice especially in the scene in the street with the giant ant walking past the shop fronts, at one point you see the same scene in reverse, but if you look carefully at the shop front signs above the doors, the wording is in reverse. I was pleased to learn that this film-within-a-film was shot on monochrome film, and that Joe Dante's key instruction to the effects team was that they should not deliberately trash up the Mant’s head and creature, but make it look as good as they could for the sort of budget these films would have had in their day. If you look carefully you will see Dick Miller in the background when they fire the DDT insecticide nerve poison at the giant ant on the side of the buiding.
Special Feature: MANT! Trailer [1993] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:32] This is the Theatrical Trailer for Lawrence Woolsey's film ‘MANT!’ and it also opens as a masterpiece in itself which immediately echoes the nuclear threat. It is also a brilliant bit of pastiche that borrows footage from other genre B-movies, notably ‘The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms,’ and absolutely nails the graphical style of the titles and captions in saying "Half Man. Half Ant. All Terror!" and even includes an abrupt soundtrack splice-click at the end.
Special Feature: Original Electronic Press Kits [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [4:26] This is a typical Electronic Press Kits, in other words a studio promotional film of the period in its mix of interviews, especially behind-the-scenes footage and some film clips from the film, all framed in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio and having a very videotape look. Keeping the illusion alive and Simon Fenton, who is originally from England, retains an American accent even in interview. Contributors include Joe Dante [Director], Simon Fenton [Actor] and Cathy Moriarty [Actress].
Special Feature: Behind-the-Scenes Footage [1993 [480i] [1.33:1] [8:21] Here we have a welcome selection of rare on-set behind-the-scenes video footage from director Joe Dante's personal archive of the shooting of four sequences from the film ‘MATINEE.’ Unfortunately at certain scenes the sound quality is very poor.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [2:27] Here you get to view 5 deleted single-shot sequences, including a nicely performed exchange between Gene and his mother. Right at the very end there's a single frame of something that looks distinctly unrelated, but overall you can see why these particular scenes were deleted, as they would have slowed up the pace of the film.
Theatrical Trailer [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [1:55] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘MATINEE,' and is a lively and seductive sell that would have sent youngsters scurrying to the cinema. Unfortunately, this trailer must have been made for advertising on American television, as it was presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
PLUS: Beautiful Designed 20 page Booklet featuring new writing on the film ‘MATINEE’ by David Jenkins and entitled “What have you done for me? – On Joe Dante’s MATINEE.” It also includes Cast, Crew, About the Transfer, Production Credits and Special Thanks. It also has some wonderful colour images from the film. David Jenkins is the Editor for the celebrated film magazine “Little White Lies,” as well as discusses film in all its diverse guises with a growing audience of over 100,000 film-lovers. David Jenkins has written major features for all the best magazines in Britain, including Vogue, the Sunday Times Magazine, and Guardian Weekend magazine, GQ, Tatler, Vanity Fair, the Independent magazine, Time Out London, The Guardian and the Sight & Sound publication.
BONUS: Beautiful Designed Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys. Graham Humphreys is a British illustrator and visual artist best known for producing film posters. During the 1980s, Graham Humphreys worked with Palace Pictures, producing publicity material for films including ‘Dream Demon,’ ‘Basket Case,’ ‘The Evil Dead,’ ‘Evil Dead II,’ the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series, ‘Phenomena’ and ‘Santa Sangre.’
Finally, I am a massive big fan of Joe Dante's film work, and of course I absolutely love ‘MATINEE' and is an absolutely really wonderful charming brilliant film, and very big on the nostalgic theme genre of the 1960s period the film is set in, but it is also very original and very entertaining at the same time. The film also looks absolutely stunning on this Blu-ray disc. Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' is a brilliant re-watchable period piece film from beginning to end and I highly recommend this Blu-ray. Joe Dante also pays tribute to the great character of Lawrence Woosley, which of course pays homage by the inspirational filmmaker William Castle [1914 – 1977], the king of gimmicks, who invented in his 1950s films attractions, like plastic skeletons released over the heads of the audiences in the cinemas, vibrating chairs and other kitsch gimmicks. Joe Dante the director is a man who took pleasure in terrifying his audience and to eventually restore their comfort once the session is over. Joe Dante, is the ultimately lover of practical jokes, beautiful monsters and abundant imagination, but also the rejection of convention and austerity imposed adulthood and all the while gently making fun of his country. In the land of Joe Dante, nostalgia is king, and the satire is his servant. What is also beautiful about this Blu-ray release is the stunning beautiful designed cover that is printed both sides. When I first had this film on an NTSC LaserDisc, it has always been an all-time favourite film of mine. Then I moved onto a NTSC DVD, which was sort of okay, but now I have the ultimate edition in this stunning 1080p encoded Blu-ray disc adding ‘MATINEE' to my Blu-ray collection is definitely the ONE to own. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
HALF MAN... HALF ANT... ALL TERROR! So says the advertising campaign for MANT!, the latest low-budget schlock-horror classic from cigar-chomping producer Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman], who more than makes up for his films lack of production values by festooning them with gimmicks that would turn even William Castle’s film ‘The Tingler’ green with envy.
But the most potent gimmick of all is accidental: Lawrence Woolsey schedules a sneak preview of Mant! in Key West, Florida, in October 1962, unaware that the Cuban missile crisis is about to flare up. Will the threat of genuine nuclear war distract the locals from the movie, or will they find it doubly terrifying?
Directed by the legendary Joe Dante, this delightful film isn’t just an affectionate love-letter to the sci-fi and horror films that he grew up with in the 1950s and 1960s, it’s also a witty and intelligent exploration of the way that the most successful genre films worked by preying on the very real fears of their audiences about everything from Soviet satellite launches to atomic mutation.
Showman Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman] introduces Key West, in a small coastal town to a unique movie experience and capitalises on the Cuban Missile crisis hysteria with a kitsch horror extravaganza combining film effects, stage props and an actor in rubber suit in this salute to the B-movie. Although ‘MATINEE’ is set in October 1962, its other film within a film that is the family-oriented gimmick comedy ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart,’ featuring an anthropomorphic shopping cart, is a reference to some colour Walt Disney comedies and the film features a then-unknown Naomi Watts.
Cast: John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Omri Katz, Lisa Jakub, Kellie Martin, Jesse Lee Soffer, Lucinda Jenney, James Villemaire, Robert Picardo, Jesse White, Dick Miller, John Sayles, David Clennon, Lucy Butler, Georgie Cranford, Nick Bronson, Cory Barlog, George Carson, Joe Gonzalez, Belinda Balaski, Charles S. Haas, Mark McCracken, Archie Hahn, Naomi Watts, Chris Stacy, Allison McKay, Richard Rossomme, D. Christian Gottshall, Elizabeth Dimon, Jacob Witkin, Timothy Bass, Jeff Breslauer, Molly Conole, Peggy O'Neal, Colette Piceau, Steve DuMouchel, Kurt Smildsin, Michael T. Kelly, Ike Pappas, Brett Rice, Robert Cornthwaite (uncredited), John F. Kennedy (archive footage) (uncredited), Art Linkletter (uncredited), Kevin McCarthy (uncredited), Sherrie Peterson (uncredited), William Schallert (uncredited), Adlai Stevenson (archive footage) Elijah Vorrasi (uncredited) and Valerian Zorin (archive footage) (uncredited)
Director: Joe Dante
Producers: Michael Finnell and Pat Kehoe
Screenplay: Charles S. Haas (story) and Jerico Stone (story)
Composer: Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography: John Hora
Video Resolution: 1080p [Color by DeLuxe]
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 99 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Universal Pictures / Arrow Video
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: ‘MATINEE’ [1993] is a hilarious and poetic chronicle of America's early 1960s and a beautiful declaration of love for cinema, by the immense prolific director Joe Dante. If there's one director who has paid dearly for his insolence towards the powerful Hollywood industry it is Joe Dante, whose name is often unknown to the general public at large and it is a totally real injustice. The man formerly protected by Steven Spielberg, who indeed staged a series of small film masterpieces that had a profound impact on children of the 1980s. Like the brilliant ‘The Howling’ [1980] is now mainly known for horror film genre enthusiasts, especially like the explosive ‘Indoor Adventure’ [1987] and the fantastic ‘Gremlins’ [1984] that are now cult films that remain for a whole generation of moviegoers. In reviewing these cult classic horror films, you can measure anyone born at a time when the typical "family film" was not synonymous with weakness and political incorrect scenario, but instead irreverence and fantasy. Because of Joe Dante’s ability to infuse a real breath of fresh air with all his blockbuster films that he has had under his responsibility and direction, Joe Dante remains one of the most emblematic adventurous directors that we have been blessed with his type and style of genre filmmaking.
As to the film ‘MATINEE’ [1993] it is October 1962 and an enterprising film promoter capitalises on the hysteria during the Cuban Missile Crisis, that is happening in the small seaside town of Key West in Florida and introduces the idea of live props and special effects at the local Key West cinema during the horror movie ‘MANT!’ We meet Gene Loomis [Simon Fenton], a teenager, and his brother Dennis Loomis [Jesse Lee Soffer], who live on the military base in the area of Key West; their father, who is in the Navy, is on an urgent mission aboard a submarine. The country is in turmoil since the televised announcement of President John F. Kennedy explaining that Soviet missiles were spotted in Cuba and that the Communist offensive enemy is more than likely. It is in this climate of terror that the director and "showman" Lawrence Woolsey [John Goodman] is presenting his latest film attraction ‘MANT!’ of changing a man into a giant ant, following a nuclear accident! Gene Loomis meets Lawrence Woolsey, who he greatly admires, and helps in the preparation of its dramatic effects in the cinema while around them, plus there is the nuclear threat that will amplify...the feeling that the end of the world is nigh? Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' is a beautiful film that is guaranteed to appeal to children and adults alike. At its heart, it is a great tribute to the 1950s and 1960s monster films, which Joe Dante admired as a child. It is also full of energy and enormously entertaining.
John F. Kennedy interrupts television sets across the nation to warn of the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, and filmmaker Lawrence Woolsey decides to capitalise on the atmosphere of fear that is taking hold in Florida after the announcement. Lawrence Woolsey's latest film ‘MANT!’ just happens to be about an ant-human like killer hybrid that attacks only after atom bomb the turns into this frightful creature. Where better to open a film like this than in a small town near Key West, Florida, with its military base and close proximity to an apparent atomic threat? In addition to bringing his film to Key West, Florida, Lawrence Woolsey decides to drum up even more publicity for his film by bringing along a couple of pals Herb Denning [Dick Miller] and Bob [John Sayles] who pretend to protest about Lawrence Woolsey film.
Ambitious exploitation director Lawrence Woolsey has just arrived in Key West where his latest film will have its premiere. Lawrence Woolsey is hoping for a warm reception and a big cheque from the owner Howard [Robert Picardo] the Theatre Manager of the local cinema that will hopefully save Lawrence Woolsey career, and possibly even his relationship with his beautiful mistress, Ruth Corday [Cathy Moriarty], who has grown tired of following him around the country. To hype up the film, Lawrence Woolsey has secretly brought in a few old friends to protest its amorality in front of the theatre. When people gather to see what all the fuss is all about, Lawrence Woolsey begins handing out free tickets to attend the screening to support Lawrence Woolsey’s film ‘MANT!’
Soon after, Lawrence Woolsey wires the theatre seats with buzzers, and hires a guy to dress like a monster “Ant-Man” and run amok inside the cinema once the film begins. Lawrence Woolsey wants the screening to be special so that people would want to see the film again, and again, and again and pay for it again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, Gene Loomis [Simon Fenton], who is obsessed with monster films, and cannot, believe that the director Lawrence Woolsey has come to Key West. Gene Loomis is so excited that he has almost forgotten about the fact that his father, a navy officer, has been sent to Cuba.
The film works because its characters are alive. There are so many of these “feel-good” films nowadays where the characters utter their lines and the viewer immediately feel that they are meaningless. In ‘MATINEE,’ the lines are funny and awkward. They make sense because kids often say and do things that make perfect sense to them but not to us. The excited young kids also look genuinely excited when they enter the cinema because they know that the next two hours will be magical, even if the film was bad, like the one Lawrence Woolsey hypes up big time, we would see it again and again, because the atmosphere in the theatre was so special.
The film's serious side is also credible. With the world on a verge of a nuclear war, the adults look genuinely confused and scared. For a while, a few act as if everything is under control, but then they become paranoid, like everyone else. The script has this same sense of self-awareness, with Lawrence Woolsey pointing out "scientific" evidence to his audience and trying to emphasis the "IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!" aspect of his latest story. Just as much credit must be given to Charles S. Haas as to Joe Dante for this film's success as homage to the horror-corn of the past, since Charles Haas wrote the screenplay.
And what would a William Castle tribute/spoof be without a nod to his famous cinema gimmicks? In the case of Lawrence Woolsey's film ‘MANT!’ and Lawrence Woolsey the director announces that the film will be accompanied by "Atomovision." Little buzzers are attached to the seats in the local theatre, just as they were for William Castle's ‘The Tingler.' Attendees must sign a contract with a "nurse" in case they die during the screening. Lawrence Woolsey even shows up at the cinema and hands out free passes to his latest film to counteract the fake protest he created!
`MATINEE' is fun because of its seriousness to tell an extraordinary story, by its way to live a character in science fiction in an ultra-mundane, everyday world. The actors all play in making tons. We also understand, through ‘MANT!’ shows how horror films were distilling their political discourse. For ‘MANT!’ the ant is simply the foreign element that will slowly devour the soul of a brave American lambda. In a curious scene, military and scientific clash over how to fight the enemy, either by science that brings compassion either by arms. William Castle's influence is most apparent, though, and Joe Dante and Charles S. Haas clearly have all of the knowledge of and respect for William Castle's work required to pay tribute to it successfully. Even the duality of fright and silliness in William Castle's films is emphasised by ‘MARINEE' with younger 8 year old brother Dennis Loomis becoming frequently scared during that ‘MANT!’ preview in the opening, while Gene Loomis acts aloof... but finds himself jumping, too, eventually.
As always with director Joe Dante, the cast is outstanding, starting with the young actors, all of a very high calibre and the supporting roles are no exception. Besides the presence of several faithful friends of the director, like the excellent Dick Miller and Robert Picardo in the lead, we note the performance of Cathy Moriarty, whose humour deadpan laugh scores at each of its replicas. Note also the brief appearance of the young Naomi Watts, who made her debut here in the ‘MATINEE’ film. Regarding the hilarious Lawrence Woolsey producer, it is interpreted by the always great performance of John Goodman, who just created one of the best performances of his career, and a genuine cartoon character unto itself, as well as both a businessman, showman and great kid trapped in an adult body, it is the master of ceremonies of the most beautiful declarations of love that we have in the cinema that we get to see.
Note that in ‘MATINEE' there is another film genre parody going on, this time it is a pastiche homage to family Walt Disney productions with Dean Jones in the early 1960s that Joe Dante also produced: ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart.’ At that time, Walt Disney liked to animate objects with a human soul. Joe Dante imagined an old man reincarnated into supermarket trolley, which has the same slapstick humour, outrageous same direction, same stupid dialogue, but the female lead is held by a young unknown actress the then Naomi Watts. Note that in ‘The Shook-Up Shopping Cart’ that we can see nuns walking down the street, figures that Joe Dante likes fit into all his films. So I consider ‘MATINEE' is a must-see for all fans of the William Castle genre or for mid-century film buffs of any type. It is an extremely entertaining film in its own right, but is especially enjoyable for its homage to one of my favourite cult horror filmmakers William Castle, the king of the corn. But of course another part of making this fantastic film what it is, and the brilliant reflection of the period in the America psyche in the 1960s, is the awesome music of that era and here below is what you will hear throughout the film, enjoy!
MATINEE MUSIC TRACK LISTING
THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT [Performed by The Tokens]
LOCO-MOTION [Performed by Little Eva]
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE [Performed by Gene Pitney]
WALK, DON’T RUN [Performed by The Challengers]
MY BOYFRIEND’S BACK [Performed by The Angels]
THE END OF THE WORLD [Performed by Skeeter Davis]
JOHNNY ANGEL [Performed by Shelley Fabares]
THE GREAT PRETENDER [Performed by The Platters]
MONSTER ATTACK from ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ [1954] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Son of Dracula’ [1943] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
STALKING THE CREATURE from ‘The Creature Walks Among Us’ [1956] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Tarantula’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
WINGED DEATH from ‘The Deadly Mantis’ [1957] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
VISITORS from 'It Came from Outer Space' [1953] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘Revenge of the Creature’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
MAIN TITLE from ‘This Island Earth’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
SHOOTING STARS from ‘This Island Earth’ [1955] [Arranged and Conducted by Dick Jacobs]
Blu-ray Video Quality – Arrow Video presents us the film ‘MATINEE' in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and encoded with a stunning gorgeous 1080p image transfer and showcasing John Hora's luminous brilliant cinematography. Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' arrives exclusive on this Blu-ray disc courtesy of Arrow Video. The high-definition transfer is very good and especially outside and inside the theatre detail is very good, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels are very stable and delivering consistently sharp detail, a generous contrast range and sumptuous colour, with crisp black levels, naturalistic skin tones and vividly rendered primes. Virtually spotless and displaying a very fine level of film grain, this is a real showcase for 1080p HD restorations of cult films from previous decades. Colour reproduction is very pleasing and exceptional and the variety of reds, blues, greens, browns, and blacks are very stable. There is no serious banding or aliasing issues. The high-definition transfer is also free of any large damage marks, scratches, and debris. All in all, the presentation is very pleasing to look at and presented in its best image clarity so far. Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications
Blu-ray Audio Quality – ‘MATINEE’ is presented in a 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio sound track and the English audio track is stunning and it has a wide range of dynamics that open up the entire film very well. The final third of the film, in particular where things go seriously wrong, has some excellent sequences and check out the one where the balcony collapses. Award winning composer Jerry Goldsmith's film score also benefits from the stunning audio treatment, though its role is mostly to enhance the unique atmosphere in the film. The dialogue is very crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. For the record, there are no sync issue or audio dropouts to report in this particular review. So all in all this is a totally brilliant audio presentation.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
High definition digital transfer supplied by NBC Universal via Hollywood Classics.
Special Feature: ARROW VIDEO Presents Bit Parts! The Joe Dante Players [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [10:07] Here we have a brand new exclusive special feature with Director Joe Dante and his recurring regular cast members discuss their collaboration towards making the film ‘MATINEE.’ Joe Dante talks a lot about his childhood and especially growing up watching lots of cartoons on the television. We also get inputs from the likes of Robert Picardo [Actor] recalling when first working with Joe Dante and has always loved working on all his films he has been involved with, and he also feels Joe Dante is a brilliant director. Archie Hahn [Actor] claims he would not have a film career were it not for being regularly cast by director Joe Dante. Belinda Balaski [Actress] reflects on the very different roles she gets as a character actor and would hate to be a big star, as the roles would be very limited. John Sayles [Actor] gives an idea what's required of a good day player and again enjoyed immensely working with Joe Dante, as he is a great director to work for. Dick Miller [Actor] in an extract from the enjoyable biographical documentary “That Guy Dick Miller,” and to this day still regards director Joe Dante as his favourite director and allowed him great freedom. We also get to view some rare behind-the-scenes filming via a very basic video quality in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Director and Producer: Elijah Drenner. Producers: Francesco Simeoni and Michael Mackenzie. Cinematography: Elle Schneider.
Special Feature: ARROW VIDEO Presents ATOMO-VISION! Making of ‘MATINEE’ with John Hora and Marshall Harvey [2016] [1080p] [1.78:1] [8:04] Here again we have a brand new exclusive special feature with Cinematographer John Hora and Editor Marshall Harvey discuss the making of ‘MATINEE,’ and especially working with Joe Dante. Director of Photography John Hora and Editor Marshall Harvey look back at the making of the film ‘MATINEE,’ and particularly the nature of their collaboration with Joe Dante. John Hora admits that he loves shooting period films but has only done two films, and revealingly explains how the camera angles become more stylised as the film progresses in order to ease the audience into the much wilder stuff you see in the film. Marshall Harvey meanwhile states that as an ex-editor himself, Joe Dante loves being in the editing room to help the process along and always shoots the film with the edit in mind. Marshall Harvey admits that working with Joe Dante in saying, "Being an editor can be frustrating and fun, but on a Joe Dante movie it's mostly fun." Again get to view some rare behind-the-scenes filming via a very basic video quality in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Director and Producer: Elijah Drenner. Producers: Francesco Simeoni and Michael Mackenzie. Cinematography: Elle Schneider.
Special Feature: Paranoia in Ant Vision [2011] [1080p] [1.78:1] [31:21] Here we have a discussion with director Joe Dante about making of the film ‘MATINEE,’ and was originally produced for the 2011 French Blu-ray disc release by Carlotta films. Before the interview starts we get the following information ALLERTON FILMS Présente PARANOÏA EN, FOURMI VISION, ou le PLAISIR D’avoir PEUR. Entretian avec JOE DANTE. Réalisé par MICHAEL HENRY WILSON. With this interview with Joe Dante is typically upbeat and is packed with interesting stories on the ‘MATINEE’ film and its making. In this exclusive interview, Joe Dante talks about his cinematic influences and comes back on the genesis of the film, to suit many personal anecdotes. It's always the same joy to see and hear the director of ‘Gremlins,’ tells us the about filming and the problematic genesis behind the film ‘MATINEE,’ especially the process of writing, re-writing and securing European funding, which ultimately failed to materialise and is covered in some detail, but having agreed to pick up the tab, Universal Pictures executive Tom Pollock's first reaction to the finished film was apparently "How am I going to sell this?" Joe Dante is also sceptical about the film, especially in relation to the discovery of the American psyche paranoia in 1962 with bristling anecdotes, as well as being very critical, as usual on the modern world and the cinema of today. The influence of Joe Dante's own memories and favourite genre films of the period are given appropriate coverage, as is the decision to loosely base Lawrence Woolsey on William Castle and Joe Dante even has a copy of the densely packed instructions manual sent to cinema managers on how to rig up their venues with the seat-buzzing “Percepto” for screenings of the Vincent Price film ‘The Tingler.’ You also get short clips of some of William Castle’s Black-and-White Theatrical Trailers, which Joe Dante thinks are totally brilliant and feels they are like mini films in themselves. Directed by Michael Henry Wilson [1946-2014] and was also into teaching film, writing about film, and to also turning to film production and screenwriting, and finally directing documentary films. His other passion was doing famous interviews like for instance with Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood.
Special Feature: Foreword by Joe Dante [2011] [1080p] 1.78:1] [6:18] Once again ALLERTON FILMS Présente Une, PRÉFACE De JOE DANTE that was originally produced for the 2011 French Blu-ray disc release by Carlotta films and again mixes in clips from the trailer with the aforementioned “Paranoia in Ant Vision” piece. Joes Dante goes into more details about the scenario of the film ‘MATINEE’ and his love of the 1960s period of Horror films and wanted his film to be homage to those genre style films. In his remarks, Joe Dante liked to say that it was not his work but that of Lawrence Woolsey.
Special Feature: MANT! [1993] [1080p] [1.85:1] [16:09] This is the full length black-and-white version of the film-with-in-a-film that features in the film ‘MATINEE,’ and edited together in chronological order and uninterrupted by blank cutaways, which really brings home just how great a job Joe Dante and cinematographer John Hora did on emulating the look and tone of science-fiction B-movies of the period and is the true gift of this special Blu-ray. The film is portrayed by some iconic players from the past, Kevin McCarthy `Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and but wanted to use Robert Cornthwaite, one of the stars of `The Thing from Another World,' but was not available at the time and Joe Dante draws strength from its ultra-serious way of telling its story. Like the works that inspired it, especially with the film ‘THEM!’ which was directed by Gordon Douglas, the various scientific exposes some big words to make about credible absurd premise: transformation after irradiation of a shoe salesman named Bill into a giant ant, and which obviously focuses children's fears of the film ‘MATINEE’ at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Joe Dante plays with sequences and stolen several time from other film dialogues and clips from other films of the same genre. It is hilarious seeing all the black-and-white parts of this particular film put together. There is one thing I think a lot of people will not notice especially in the scene in the street with the giant ant walking past the shop fronts, at one point you see the same scene in reverse, but if you look carefully at the shop front signs above the doors, the wording is in reverse. I was pleased to learn that this film-within-a-film was shot on monochrome film, and that Joe Dante's key instruction to the effects team was that they should not deliberately trash up the Mant’s head and creature, but make it look as good as they could for the sort of budget these films would have had in their day. If you look carefully you will see Dick Miller in the background when they fire the DDT insecticide nerve poison at the giant ant on the side of the buiding.
Special Feature: MANT! Trailer [1993] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:32] This is the Theatrical Trailer for Lawrence Woolsey's film ‘MANT!’ and it also opens as a masterpiece in itself which immediately echoes the nuclear threat. It is also a brilliant bit of pastiche that borrows footage from other genre B-movies, notably ‘The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms,’ and absolutely nails the graphical style of the titles and captions in saying "Half Man. Half Ant. All Terror!" and even includes an abrupt soundtrack splice-click at the end.
Special Feature: Original Electronic Press Kits [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [4:26] This is a typical Electronic Press Kits, in other words a studio promotional film of the period in its mix of interviews, especially behind-the-scenes footage and some film clips from the film, all framed in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio and having a very videotape look. Keeping the illusion alive and Simon Fenton, who is originally from England, retains an American accent even in interview. Contributors include Joe Dante [Director], Simon Fenton [Actor] and Cathy Moriarty [Actress].
Special Feature: Behind-the-Scenes Footage [1993 [480i] [1.33:1] [8:21] Here we have a welcome selection of rare on-set behind-the-scenes video footage from director Joe Dante's personal archive of the shooting of four sequences from the film ‘MATINEE.’ Unfortunately at certain scenes the sound quality is very poor.
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [2:27] Here you get to view 5 deleted single-shot sequences, including a nicely performed exchange between Gene and his mother. Right at the very end there's a single frame of something that looks distinctly unrelated, but overall you can see why these particular scenes were deleted, as they would have slowed up the pace of the film.
Theatrical Trailer [1993] [480i] [1.33:1] [1:55] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘MATINEE,' and is a lively and seductive sell that would have sent youngsters scurrying to the cinema. Unfortunately, this trailer must have been made for advertising on American television, as it was presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
PLUS: Beautiful Designed 20 page Booklet featuring new writing on the film ‘MATINEE’ by David Jenkins and entitled “What have you done for me? – On Joe Dante’s MATINEE.” It also includes Cast, Crew, About the Transfer, Production Credits and Special Thanks. It also has some wonderful colour images from the film. David Jenkins is the Editor for the celebrated film magazine “Little White Lies,” as well as discusses film in all its diverse guises with a growing audience of over 100,000 film-lovers. David Jenkins has written major features for all the best magazines in Britain, including Vogue, the Sunday Times Magazine, and Guardian Weekend magazine, GQ, Tatler, Vanity Fair, the Independent magazine, Time Out London, The Guardian and the Sight & Sound publication.
BONUS: Beautiful Designed Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys. Graham Humphreys is a British illustrator and visual artist best known for producing film posters. During the 1980s, Graham Humphreys worked with Palace Pictures, producing publicity material for films including ‘Dream Demon,’ ‘Basket Case,’ ‘The Evil Dead,’ ‘Evil Dead II,’ the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ series, ‘Phenomena’ and ‘Santa Sangre.’
Finally, I am a massive big fan of Joe Dante's film work, and of course I absolutely love ‘MATINEE' and is an absolutely really wonderful charming brilliant film, and very big on the nostalgic theme genre of the 1960s period the film is set in, but it is also very original and very entertaining at the same time. The film also looks absolutely stunning on this Blu-ray disc. Joe Dante's ‘MATINEE' is a brilliant re-watchable period piece film from beginning to end and I highly recommend this Blu-ray. Joe Dante also pays tribute to the great character of Lawrence Woosley, which of course pays homage by the inspirational filmmaker William Castle [1914 – 1977], the king of gimmicks, who invented in his 1950s films attractions, like plastic skeletons released over the heads of the audiences in the cinemas, vibrating chairs and other kitsch gimmicks. Joe Dante the director is a man who took pleasure in terrifying his audience and to eventually restore their comfort once the session is over. Joe Dante, is the ultimately lover of practical jokes, beautiful monsters and abundant imagination, but also the rejection of convention and austerity imposed adulthood and all the while gently making fun of his country. In the land of Joe Dante, nostalgia is king, and the satire is his servant. What is also beautiful about this Blu-ray release is the stunning beautiful designed cover that is printed both sides. When I first had this film on an NTSC LaserDisc, it has always been an all-time favourite film of mine. Then I moved onto a NTSC DVD, which was sort of okay, but now I have the ultimate edition in this stunning 1080p encoded Blu-ray disc adding ‘MATINEE' to my Blu-ray collection is definitely the ONE to own. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
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